Green and Hazel
by teenage.tradgedy
Summary: Lily and James have graduated Hogwarts, and continue on with the adventures their lives holds in store for them, in the anticipated sequel to Flower and Prongs.
1. Reunited

**I'm back! So this is the sequel to Flower and Prongs, if you haven't read that, I suggest you read it first so it'll be easier for you to understand the character development.**

**ENJOY!**

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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I do own the story line.**

* * *

"Lily!" Lily turned around quickly towards the voice that was screaming for her. She grinned as she recognized her best friend, Hestia Jones, sprinting towards her down the streets of Diagon Alley. Lily was sitting in Florean Fortsecue's ice cream parlor with a large cup of Cookies & Cream ice cream, which was her favorite.

"Hest!" Lily squealed, jumping up. Hestia flew into Lily's arms and the best friends embraced, swinging back and forth as they squealed.

"Oh Merlin Lily I've missed you!" Hestia squealed, sitting down next to Lily and grabbing a spoon, digging into Lily's ice cream, without permission of course. Usually, Lily would have yelled at her, but she had missed her best friend too much.

"I've missed you too," Lily said, grinning like an idiot, sitting back down in her seat and grabbing her spoon.

"What have you been up to? Merlin I have so much to tell you. You know how Sirius came to stay with us for a few days? Merlin's _pants_ I wanted to Avada Kedavra myself, or him, either would have been fine. I think he and my mother are planning on eloping. It was terrible. And you know dad? HE LOVES HIM! I KNOW RIGHT?" she said in response to Lily's raised eyebrows. Mr. Jones was known to hate every male that Hestia had ever dated, not that he'd met all of him, "They spent the whole time bloody _bonding. _So mum was in love with him, Dad was in love with him, Tyler wouldn't leave his side. I WAS ALONE!" Hestia whined, shoving a rather large spoon of ice cream into her mouth, "BLOODY HELL!" she squealed, grabbing her head as the ice cream hurt her head. Lily laughed as her best friend cried over her brain freeze.

"Honestly Hest this is what happens when you eat too big a bite of ice cream," Lily said, shaking her head fondly. Hestia stuck her tongue out at her best friend, "And the Sirius thing, that's what it was like when James was over," Lily said, and Hestia scrunched her nose.

"I honestly thought you were joking when you said your mother was going to marry your boyfriend in your letters," Hestia giggled, and Lily rolled her eyes. She had stayed at her house with James the first week of summer, and the next week they'd gone to the Potters. The two weeks after that she and James had been living apart with their own families, and she missed him terribly, but didn't want him to come over to her house, because she had honestly gotten tired of hearing James's name, the amount of times her mother repeated it, honestly.

"I wasn't," Lily said darkly, and Hestia laughed.

"So, how is the devil himself?" Hestia asked, pulling one of her knees up onto the seat, "I've missed him," Hestia grinned, and Lily laughed.

"I miss him too," Lily chuckled, and Hestia frowned slightly, but was distracted by what Lily said next, "Dad and I got drunk thanks to him," Lily giggled, and Hestia's eyebrows rose up to her hairline.

"You got drunk? With your dad? Because of James? What happened!" Hestia said excitedly, leaning forward.

"Well it wasn't _drunk _drunk. It was more like, tipsy," Lily said, and Hestia rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, whatever, explain," Hestia said, bouncing up and down, and Lily grinned. She had been without Hestia for far too long; her excitement was something Lily wasn't accustomed to anymore.

"Well, one night, daddy and I decided to have a drinking game for every time mum squealed James's name," Lily shrugged, and Hestia threw her head back to laugh.

"Merlin," Hestia said, drying her eyes, "You are crazy," she said sternly, and Lily grinned proudly.

"Thank you, and how is the dog?" Lily asked, and Hestia grinned.

"Don't call him that, he missed you, you know," Hestia said, and Lily smiled.

"I call him that out of love," she teased, and Hestia pretended to pout.

"Do you love him more than me?" she asked sadly, and Lily bit her lip, pretending to think, and nodded, "LILY!" Hestia shrieked, and Lily laughed. Hestia laughed along with her friend and flicked ice cream at her, which landed in Lily's hair.

"HEST!" Lily squealed, feeling an extremely cold patch on top of her head, contrasting terribly with the hot sun. Hestia laughed as Lily grabbed a napkin and hastened to wipe the ice cream. Hestia continued to laugh and Lily narrowed her eyes at her, before flicking ice cream back at her stupid friend. Hestia shrieked and pulled her wand out, scourgifying it.

"Lily that's not funny I just got it done," Hestia whined, gesturing wildly to her hair, and Lily chuckled, "Oh shut up, it never hurts to look attractive when apartment hunting, they might charge me less when I look absolutely gorgeous," Hestia pointed out, and Lily snorted.

"You've been hanging around Sirius too long," Lily said wisely, and Hestia rolled her eyes.

"You can say that again," she muttered, and Lily laughed.

"So you never answered my question, how _is _dear Sirius?" Lily asked, finishing up the ice cream, which was melting rapidly under the scorching hot sun.

"He's fine. He's been staying with James for the past week," Hestia said, and Lily felt her stomach flip at the mention of James's name, "And why did you say you missed him? I thought you guys stayed together," Hestia said, as they stood up simultaneously, Lily having finished the ice cream as Hestia had stopped after her brain freeze.

"We did, but we've been apart for the last two weeks," Lily grimaced, and Hestia nodded thoughtfully, before giggling, "What?" Lily asked, turning to Hestia, who shook her head.

"You've got it so bad," Hestia giggled, and Lily gasped, smacking her best friend in the arm, blushing slightly.

"Shut up Hestia Jones," Lily huffed, a smile twitching on her lips, and Hestia grinned cheekily

"No thank you," she said, draping her arm around Lily's shoulders, "So where is the apartment person meeting us?" she asked happily, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"_Apartment person? _Honestly Hest, I think a summer with Sirius Black has affected your mind. He's a real estate agent," Lily said, ignoring Hestia's insulted expression at Lily's jab at her mind.

"It's a he?" Hestia said and Lily sighed.

"Yes Hestia," Lily said patiently, and Hestia grinned.

"So my plan will work," Hestia said determinedly, and Lily shook her head.

"Hest, I don't think they'll charge us less because you look good," Lily said, and Hestia snorted.

"Watch and learn seedling," Hestia said, and Lily snorted.

"Seedling?"

"Well, in order to be a flower you have to grow," Hestia said, and Lily raised her eyebrows, "oh never mind, you're useless," Hestia muttered, and Lily laughed, "Now," Hestia said, stopping and standing in front of Lily, "What in the name of Merlin's Speedos are you wearing?" Hestia asked, looking at Lily's outfit.

"Merlin's Speedos?" Lily asked, amused, and Hestia winked.

"I got it off Tyler. He went into muggle London and told me how gross Speedos are so now I will use that because I find it amusing," Hestia said, and Lily sighed. What was the point of arguing with Hestia Jones?

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Lily asked, looking down at her outfit. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt with ballet flats. It wasn't as if she'd walked out of her house in James's jersey, which, by the way, she had taken to wearing all day long.

"Lily Evans, you disappoint me," Hestia said sternly, pulling her wand out. Ignoring Lily's protesting, Hestia transfigured Lily's clothing, "Much better," Hestia said happily, and Lily looked down to see herself in a short denim skirt, a tight blue top, and, for the love of Merlin, wedged heels.

"Hestia I'm going to look for a flat! Not on a bloody date!" Lily squealed,

"You wouldn't wear that on a date," Hestia snorted, "I wouldn't let you," she said, and then proceeded to eye the red hair, which Lily had left open, dangerously

"No," Lily said, covering her hair with her hands. Hestia ignored her and put Lily's hair up in a high ponytail, letting a few strands loose in front.

"Let's go," Hestia said, satisfied, and Lily huffed.

"I can't believe I'm willingly living with you," Lily grumbled, and Hestia grinned at her.

"And you cant wait," Hestia declared, "Is that him?" she asked suddenly. Lily turned her head quickly to see a wizard, no older than twenty-five, holding a file, and looking around.

"I think so," Lily said.

"He's cute," Hestia approved, nodding, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"What does it matter if he's cute?"

"It just does, I don't want to be seen with someone un-cute," Hestia shrugged, and Lily shook her head fondly, chuckling.

"You're so odd,"

"You're great too Lily," Hestia said nonchalantly, and walked over to the man. Lily giggled as his eyes widened slightly as he took Hestia in, and Lily couldn't blame him. Why someone would walk around dressed in a mini-skirt, a spaghetti top, with sunglasses on her head, and stilettos, was beyond her. She, like normal people, went for comfort first, "Hi," Hestia said in a friendly voice, and he fumbled slightly, "Are you a real estate agent?" she asked, and he nodded dumbly, before looking down at the file he was holding.

"W-would you be Ms. Evans?" he asked, looking down at it.

"That would be me," Lily said, taking a step forward and offering him a friendly smile. He took her in as well, in a way that Lily knew would make James's jaw clench.

"And you are?" he asked, in a much deeper voice, turning to Hestia, who smiled at him widely.

"Hestia Jones, I'm renting the flat with her," she said, and the boy nodded.

"So, shall we?" he asked. The two girls nodded and he led them down the street of Diagon Alley, where the first flat they were going to look at was.

"So what's your name?" Hestia asked, twirling her hair, and Lily rolled her eyes. She was flirting. What was _wrong _with that girl?

"Hest! You have a boyfriend," Lily hissed, and Hestia waved her hand in front of Lily's face, as if to tell her to be quiet.

"Tyler Johnson," he said, winking at Lily, who had to stifle an eye roll so she wouldn't come across as rude. Her mother would kill her if she did.

"My brother's name is Tyler," Hestia said excitedly, and Lily sighed. She tuned her best friend and Tyler out and thought about James, and what he could be doing right now.

* * *

"It's so bloody early Padfoot," James mumbled, burying his face further into his pillow.

"Hestia and Lily are walking around Diagon Alley, it is hardly early," Sirius said, and James sat up quickly.

"Lily?" he said stupidly, and Sirius barked a laugh.

"You saw her two weeks ago," Sirius said, pulling his best mate out of bed.

"That's a long time," James mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Translation: I haven't been snogged in two weeks," Sirius snorted, and James chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"No, translation: I miss my girlfriend," James said, and Sirius snorted.

"Okay, sure mate," Sirius nodded, and James sighed, grabbing his glasses and pulling a shirt on.

"Let's go for breakfast," James mumbled, and Sirius grinned happily

"BREAKFAST!" Sirius yelled, and sprinted out of the room, banging into walls in his attempt to get down the stairs. James chuckled and shook his head. They may have graduated, but Sirius Black was never going to grow up. James walked in to his dining room to see his parents being hugged by Sirius.

"Pads what are you _doing?" _James asked, sitting down in his usual spot across from his mother. Emily smiled at her son and went back to _The Prophet. _

"I was merely saying good morning to the most attractive adults I know," Sirius said through his mouthful of food, and James saw his father wince as a bit of pancake flew out.

"Chew with your mouth closed," Daniel muttered, and James grinned at his father, who winked at him. There was no point telling Sirius that, as he would only state that if his mouth was closed they wouldn't be able to see every orifice of him, which would be a right shame, just as he had the previous night.

"So what are you boys doing today?" Emily asked, putting down _The Prophet. _

"Anything interesting in there?" Daniel asked, nodding towards the paper, and Emily shook her head.

"Just the usual," she said, and Daniel grimaced. The usual was now taken to mean, a couple of people missing, a few dead, and muggle baiting continuing.

"We're going to Diagon Alley," Sirius announced, and James choked on his pumpkin juice.

"Why?" he asked, and Sirius looked at him as if the answer was obvious, which it was.

"Do you not want to meet the love of your life?" Sirius asked, and James instantly brightened, as did Emily at the mention of Lily.

"We're going to meet Lily?" James asked excitedly, and Sirius sighed, and nodded.

"They don't know, we're going to surprise them," Sirius said, and James grinned.

"When are we going?" he asked eagerly, and Sirius rolled his eyes, but was secretly also very excited to see Lily again. He had, in truth, missed her a lot.

"After breakfast," Sirius said, and James instantly began to scarf it down.

"James, calm down, you're going to choke," Emily said gently, and James threw her a dirty look over his forkful of pancake, "Don't look at me like that James Potter. I know you're eager to see your girlfriend, and that will be pretty hard to do if you've choked to death on breakfast," she said sternly, and Sirius sniggered.

"Shut up Padfoot," James said, narrowing his eyes at his best mate, who only blew him a kiss.

"Bring her home if you can," Daniel said, looking at James, "I've missed her pretty face," he said, and Emily nodded enthusiastically

"You saw her two weeks ago!" James said exasperatedly.

"As did you Prongs my man," Sirius pointed out, and James turned to look at his best mate as his parents smirked.

"Completely different situation."

"Right," Sirius snorted, and stood up quickly, "Well I'm done," he announced, and James stood up quickly, causing his chair to fall over, "Merlin Prongs," Sirius chuckled, as James sprinted out of the room and up the stairs to get ready, "Maybe I should get ready really slowly to irritate him," Sirius said, a twinkle in his eye.

"I wouldn't, he's really missed her," Daniel said, waving his wand and fixing his son's chair.

"The Potter men don't do well when they've missed the girl," Emily said, and Daniel turned to narrow his eyes at her, but she only grinned at him.

"I didn't mean to knock over that little old lady," Daniel said defensively, and Sirius barked a laugh

"You knocked over a little old lady?"

"He was running towards me," Emily said, and Daniel crossed his arms, pouting, as Sirius and Emily laughed at him.

"I need James," Daniel said, and Emily snorted delicately

"He'd be laughing with us," she pointed out, and Daniel pouted further. Sirius left the laughing parents to their bickering and followed James up the stairs.

"What's up with you?" Sirius asked, watching as James tried to put his shoes on for the third time, continuously putting them on the wrong feet.

"I'm nervous!" James blurted out, and Sirius frowned, "I haven't seen her in so long! And I've missed her! We've never been apart for so long, what if its different? What if she's found someone else? What if she, Merlin forbid, had found someone else?" James started to get squeakier and squeakier, and Sirius sighed. He walked over to his best mate and grabbed both of his shoulders firmly, shaking him.

"Prongs mate, you have to calm down. You and Lily-flower are going to be together forever, so breathe, and wear your bloody shoes so I can see _my _girlfriend," Sirius said, pushing James back down onto the bed.

* * *

"So have you made your decision?" Tyler asked, after showing them all the five options for flats.

"Can we talk for a little bit?" Hestia asked, batting her eyelids at him, and he nodded dumbly. Lily rolled her eyes, and before Hestia could wind the poor man up any more, she dragged her over to a corner.

"So?" Lily said, and Hestia frowned.

"Well, I really liked the third one. It was a great location, and it was three bedrooms, and it was a good size," Hestia said, and Lily nodded.

"I liked that one too. It was equidistant from the Ministry and the _Prophet, _so it's convenient for both of us," Lily said, and Hestia nodded, "And it was well within our budget," she added, and Hestia grinned.

"So the third one?" Hestia asked excitedly, and Lily grinned, "Tyler," Hestia sung, turning around to the agent, who had been bluntly ogling the two girls. Lily rolled her eyes at her best friends idiocy and followed her over to Tyler.

"We've made a decision," Lily said, before Hestia could do something completely embarrassing, both for Hestia herself and for Lily, who didn't really enjoy being associated with a hopeless flirt.

"Good, good," Tyler said to Lily's legs, "Which one?" he asked, turning up to look into her green eyes, which were irritated.

"The third one," Lily said, and he nodded.

"Shall we go there?" he offered, and Lily nodded politely. Tyler winked at Hestia, who batted her eyelashes at him, "Do you remember where it is?" he asked, and they both nodded, "See you there," he said, winking at Lily, before disapparating.

"Hestia will you _stop it?_" Lily asked irritably, turning to Hestia, who suddenly looked dead tired, and extremely bored.

"Why? It's pretty fun," Hestia grinned, and Lily tried to give her friend 'a look' but failed as a grin crept up on her face. She had to admit, it was pretty fun.

"Because he wont stop _winking _at us, and my leg's cant stand any more of his staring!" Lily squealed, and Hestia threw her head back and laughed.

"Lily your legs are underappreciated because they're always covered in bloody jeans, let them have fun," Hestia winked, before taking Lily's hand and disapparating.

"Did you get lost?" Tyler asked politely, and Lily turned to look at him irritably. What she didn't like most about him was that he thought she and Hestia were damsels in distress. She, Lily Evans, was not a damsel in distress. From her point of view, James was the damsel in their relationship. She smirked to herself, imaging the look on his face if she ever said that out loud. Tyler, mistaking her smirk for a smile, grinned back at her.

"No," Hestia said flirtatiously, catching the look on Lily's face. She, too, was getting tired of him assuming girls were less capable. Tyler nodded happily and gestured around the flat.

"This one?"

"Can we have another little look?" Hestia asked, holding up her index finger and thumb, holding them close together. Tyler nodded enthusiastically and Hestia gave him an award-winning smile, taking Lily's hand.

"I hate how he thinks I'm a bloody damsel in distress!" Lily hissed, as they walked to the depths of the flat. After all, she could tell Hest about her damsel in distress thing.

"Tell me about it," Hestia muttered, looking around the bedrooms, "I can live here," she said, looking at Lily, "Can you?" Lily held up her index finger and ran to inspect the bathrooms. Satisfied, she walked out and nodded. Hestia grinned and linked her arm through Lily's, "let's go get a flat!" she said excitedly, and Lily felt her stomach turn in excitement.

"Tyler?" Lily called out, and Tyler suddenly appeared in front of them, as if he had run over to them, which, Lily couldn't help but think, he probably had.

"Yes Ms. Evans," he said, and Lily smiled slyly. She hadn't even offered to have him call her Lily.

"This is the one," she said happily, and Tyler grinned.

"Excellent," he said, looking between Lily and Hestia, "Shall we work out the, er, finer details?" he asked, gesturing to his file, and the girls nodded. The three disapparated to the realtors office and ended up signing so many papers that Lily felt as if her hand was going to fall out.

"My hand is out of practice," Lily mumbled, as they walked out of the realtors office, "To think, I used to be able to write entire essays," she scoffed, and Hestia laughed, "You're so cheerful," she complained, and Hestia grinned.

"In case you haven't realized, we now own an apartment," Hestia said happily, holding up the copy of the forms they had. Lily's eyes widened and she squealed, jumping onto Hestia.

"We own a flat!" Lily squealed, and Hestia laughed, jumping up and down with her. A few old ladies who were walking by them gave them dirty looks, which irritated Hestia.

"What? We're lesbians okay? Mind your own business," she said to them, and they scuttled away, not making eye contact with the two 'lesbians'

"REALLY?" the two girls jumped and turned to the source of the voice, to see none other than Sirius Black.

"Sirius!" Lily squealed, running over to him and throwing her arms around Sirius's neck. Sirius grinned and hugged her back.

"Lily-flower!" he said happily, and Lily felt her eyes tickle. She really had missed the stupid dog.

"I missed you! How have you been?" Lily asked, letting go of him and he shrugged, still grinning down at her.

"Well, nothing to report, unlike you two," he said, looking over at Hestia, who had come up on the other side of Lily, "Lesbians?" Hestia flushed slightly and smiled at her boyfriend.

"Arent you proud?" she asked, and Sirius laughed.

"Yes, I am, I've always wanted to snog a lesbian," he winked, and Hestia laughed.

"Where's your other half?" she asked, noting the way Lily was looking around Sirius.

"Prongsie dearest is-"

"Right here," James said, coming up behind Sirius. Lily felt her heart beat speed up as she looked up at her boyfriend. Had he always been so good looking? James saw Lily and stopped in his tracks, and smile spreading across his face. Lily grinned at James and threw her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in her hair.

"I've missed you!" Lily squealed, hugging him tighter, and James grinned into her shoulder.

"I've missed you more, love," he said, kissing her cheek softly. Lily grinned and let go of James, who looked at her outfit and raised his eyebrows.

"Hestia got to me," she said darkly, and James grinned.

"Now that's just rude," Hestia said, letting go of Sirius, who she had been hugging, and turning to look at Lily, "I make you look gorgeous, so gorgeous that poor real estate agents are stuck ogling you, and you complain?" she shrieked, and Lily grinned at her.

"He was ogling you Hest, what are you talking about?" Lily asked, crossing her arms, and Sirius's jaw clenched, joining James's

"I believe it was your legs he was talking to," Hestia pointed out, and Lily giggled.

"Yes, but it was you who gave him the impression that he was allowed to speak to my legs, and to yours as well," Lily said, and Hestia flushed slightly, her gaze flickering to her boyfriend, who looked just a tad murderous.

"Real estate agent?" James asked harshly, and Lily rolled her eyes. His expression was just as she had imagined it.

"You're better looking," Lily assured him, grinning up at him, and James felt his stomach flip as he smiled back down at her.

"Well I could have figured that for myself, thanks," he said cheekily, and Lily giggled, "Oh you're coming home for dinner by the way," he said, and Lily frowned at him, "Mum and Dad have, quote, missed your pretty face," he said, and Lily grinned.

"Have you missed my pretty face?" Lily asked, matching his tone, and James shook his head.

"He's lying Lily-flower," Sirius snorted, and James turned to look at his best mate in a threatening manner, "I'm so scared!" Sirius said, clapping his face with both of his hands, and they all laughed.

"Ms. Evans!" they turned around quickly and Lily groaned slightly as Tyler ran up to them, "Ms. Evans, Ms. Jones, you forgot these," he said, handing them some papers.

"Thank you Tyler," Hestia said flirtatiously, and Lily sighed as Tyler grinned at the two of them.

"It was my pleasure," he said, eying them. Both Sirius and James cleared their throats, and Tyler's heads snapped up to look at them. They were a few years younger than him, but Tyler knew that, if they wanted to, they'd be able to shred him to pieces.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm James Potter, Lily's boyfriend," James said, reaching his hand out, and Tyler took it warily. James squished his hand, before draping his arm around Lily's shoulders'

"Mr. Black, Hestia's boyfriend," Sirius said harshly, not bothering to shake Tyler's hand. Tyler smiled at them weakly before turning back to the two girls, who were trying not to giggle at the boys' reactions and Tyler's expressions

"Well it was nice to meet you, hope you enjoy the flat," Tyler said in the most formal voice he'd used all morning, before smiling at the girls one last time, and turning around, heading back to the office.

"That was rude," Hestia said, turning around to chastise the two boys, a look of amusement on her face.

"Is it just me, or were you flirting with him?" Sirius asked, crossing his arms and looking down at his girlfriend sternly. Hestia gave him a nervous smile, and looked at Lily pleadingly, but Lily just grinned and shook her head.

"Your stupid flirting made him think we were bloody damsels in distress and gave him the impression that my legs wanted to talk to him," she pointed out, and Hestia stuck her tongue out at her best friend.

"You're supposed to save me! Don't you want me alive?" Hestia squealed, eying Sirius's murderous expression fearfully

"He wont kill you, then he'll have nobody to snog," Lily winked, and Sirius grinned.

"She has a point," he sighed, and Hestia relaxed, "But that doesn't mean we're not going to discuss this," he said sternly, and Hestia pouted. Lily recognized the look in Hestia's eyes and herded James away from the couple.

"See you later!" she yelled, and James frowned down at her, as she continued to push him away from them, "Hestia's going to flirt with him to get out of it, it will work," Lily sighed, and James chuckled. He turned around and Lily's hands smacked into his chest. Lily flushed slightly and moved her hands, looking down at the floor.

"She did a good job, but she got the hair all wrong," James mused, playing with the sleeve of Lily's shirt, nodding towards her ponytail, and Lily stuck her tongue out at him. James laughed and put his arm around her shoulder, "What do you want to do?" he asked, and Lily sighed, leaning into him.

"I was nervous you know," she mused, and James frowned.

"What are you talking about?" he asked bluntly, and Lily giggled.

"About seeing you," she said, and James grinned down at her.

"May I ask why you were nervous?" he asked, stopping her, and causing her to accidentally crash into him.

"Stop _doing _that," Lily huffed, and James grinned, "I was nervous because it was two weeks, and I didn't know if things would be, I don't know, we've never, I mean, long time, and-" Lily started to stammer and James continued to look down at her, "Stop looking at me!" she whined, hiding her face in his chest, and James laughed, pushing her off him slightly.

"I was nervous too," James said quietly, smiling down at her, and Lily grinned up at him

"Well that was extremely stupid of you," she said, and James gasped.

"As if you weren't stupid to be nervous as well!" he said indignantly, and Lily shook her head.

"Lily Evans is never stupid, others simply know too much," Lily said cheekily, and James's mouth twitched slightly.

"So did you find a flat?" James asked, taking her hand in his and walking down the streets of Diagon Alley.

"Yes!" Lily squealed, her whole aura instantly brightening, "You have to see it!" she said excitedly, grabbing onto James's forearm. James grinned down at his excited girlfriend and nodded.

"Let's go," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist. Lily frowned up at him and James shrugged, "I'm just holding on," he said innocently, and Lily rolled her eyes, smiling slightly. They turned on the spot and, after the incredibly uncomfortable situation, landed in the middle of the flat Lily and Hestia had just bought, "Wow," James said, letting go of Lily and looking around, "This is really nice," he said and Lily grinned, nodding.

"Come," she said, taking his hand, and dragging him towards the inner part of the flat. James allowed her to drag him, watching how the light reflected of her shiny red hair, "This is my room," she said, pushing the door open. James looked around and smiled.

"It's sort of the same shape as your bedroom," he smiled, and Lily looked around.

"I didn't notice that," she said, smiling, and James chuckled, "I was busy okay?" she said defensively, and James continued to chuckle.

"Doing what?"

"I was busy being ogled at, thank you very much," she said irritably, and James's jaw clenched.

"I don't think you should dress like that when I'm not around," he said, eying the outfit, and Lily flushed slightly.

"You'll have to reign in Hestia, I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt," Lily said, and James grinned at her.

"Sounds like you," he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist, "that bloke sounds irritating," he said, frowning.

"Who?" Lily asked, watching his facial expressions.

"The agent bloke," James said, and Lily giggled, "Oh shut up," James muttered, and Lily grinned. James looked around the bedroom and suddenly there were lips on his. Lily pulled back and looked up at him, to see him looking down at her, "Took you long enough," James muttered, narrowing his eyes at her, and Lily glared at him.

"I believe, as you are the boy, you're supposed to initiate-" James's lips cut her off and Lily smiled slightly, moving her hands into his hair, sighing in contentment as she felt his soft locks in between her fingers. James pulled back and rested his forehead on hers.

"Merlin I missed you," James whispered, and Lily's eyes smiled up at him. James leaned down once more, but there was a bang. Lily turned around quickly and heard a familiar giggle.

"Bloody hell," she muttered, and walked out to see Sirius and Hestia having their own reunion, "EHEM!" she said, and they sprung apart.

"Looks like great minds think alike," Sirius grinned sheepishly, and Lily laughed as James came up behind her, his hand at the back of his head, playing with his hair.

"What were you doing?" Hestia asked suggestively, wagging her eyebrows, and Lily rolled her eyes, blushing.

"What were you on the way to doing?" she retorted, and Sirius cleared his throat awkwardly, "Thought so," she giggled, as James wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"So shall we go then?" James suggested, and Lily turned to look at him questioningly, "For dinner, at my house?" he reminded her, and Lily jumped. She had almost forgot!

"I just have to stop by home and tell the parents," she said, and James smiled.

"We're going to stay here for a while," Sirius said, winking at Hestia, who blushed.

"Don't want to know," Lily said, taking James's hand and vanishing on the spot. James landed in Lily's living room and grinned around at the familiar surroundings, "If she finds out you're here…" Lily muttered, and James chuckled, knowing the 'she' she was referring to was her mother.

"HELLO!" James yelled, and Lily hissed, stomping on his foot as hard as she could, which worked out well thanks to the stupid heels Hestia had put her in. Thank you Hestia.

"James?" a squeak came from the TV room. Lily heard a loud noise and then what sounded like thunder as her mother ran over to them, "James!" she yelled in confirmation, running over to him and throwing her arms around his middle, "Oh it's so good to see you! How are you? How are your parents? We should really have them over sometime it's been way too long. How have you been! Oh, JAMES!" she squealed, hugging him again, and Lily rolled her eyes. She left the happy couple to their reunion and walked to the TV room where her father was sitting, watching a soccer game.

"Hi daddy," she said, flopping down next to him. Her father took a double take as he looked at her outfit and frowned.

"When you left you were in jeans," he said, and Lily flushed slightly, knowing her father didn't like her in clothes which boys would like her in. His words, not hers.

"Hestia," she said, and Andrew huffed. That one word was all the explanation in the world.

"That girl," he said fondly, and then turned towards the doorway, "Did I hear squealing?"

"Yes," she said darkly

"So am I to assume correctly, and say that James is here?" he asked, and Lily laughed.

"You assume correctly," she said, and Andrew shook his head.

"Why aren't you out there? You've missed him," he said gently, and Lily flushed slightly.

"I'm giving the happy couple time to catch up," she said, and Andrew laughed.

"Don't give them too much time, if it was between me and James, he would win any day," Andrew said, pulling his daughter off the sofa, "Let's go," he said, urging her towards the doorway.

"But I don't want to watch my boyfriend charm my mother and my mother attempt to seduce him," she whined, and Andrew snorted. It was an accurate description.

"Oh well, we'll use vodka this time," he winked, and Lily laughed, and allowed her dad to lead her back to the happy couple. Her mother was still squealing, and said 'James' at least five times in the few seconds they were there.

"I think you should get the vodka, it would make this more amusing," Lily muttered, and her father chuckled. James's head snapped up and he grinned, walking around Jane towards Andrew.

"Hi Mr. Evans, how're you doing?" James asked, shaking Andrew's hands.

"How many times James?"

"Sorry sir," James said, playing with the locks at the back of his head as she grinned at Andrew, "Hi Andrew, how're you doing?"

"Very well son, and yourself?" Andrew said, shaking James's hand, and James chuckled.

"Pretty good, scared for the first Auror meeting in a few days," James said and Lily grimaced. She was scared too.

"You'll both do fine," Andrew said confidently, clapping James on the back, "so what brings you here?" he asked, and James chuckled.

"Well, Sirius and I went to meet Lily and Hestia in Diagon Alley,"

"You didn't tell us you were meeting James!" Jane huffed, and Lily rolled her eyes

"I didn't know, they surprised us," Lily said, and Jane nodded sternly. Honestly these people.

"Right, we did," grinned James, "And then I invited Lily for dinner, and she said she had to come and tell you first so here we are," James finished, and Andrew nodded.

"Well we know now, have fun," he said, and James grinned.

"They just got here!" Jane squealed, and Lily shook her head irritably. Translation: I don't want James to go!

"We'll stay for longer next time," James assured her, and Lily huffed. She grabbed James's hand and waved to her parents, disapparating, "That was rude," James said, as their feet, well, James's feet and Lily's stupid wedges, hit the floor.

"My mum was going to wet herself, it was about time," Lily said, and James grinned, kissing her cheek.

"I don't want to go in right now, want to stay outside for a while?" James whispered.

"LILY?" James sighed as his mother screamed from the doorway. Lily grinned at his expression and kissed his cheek.

"Later," she grinned, and turned to wave towards Emily, who squealed and ran out towards her.

"I've missed you!" Emily squealed, hugging Lily. Lily hugged Emily back and allowed Emily to steer her into the ridiculously large mansion.

"Lily!" Daniel said happily, as Lily walked into the dining room. He got up and pulled her in for a hug, and Lily hugged him back happily. She loved coming to the Potters.

"How are you?" Emily squealed, and James sighed. He was never going to get to talk to Lily if his mother was around. As if right on cue, an owl flew through the window.

"Em we have to go," Daniel choked, reading the letter. They all turned and frowned at him, "It's not such a big deal," he said in response to the frightened expressions, and they all relaxed, "it's an Order meeting, urgent," he said, and Emily nodded. The two stood up and looked at Lily apologetically

"I will see you within the next two days," Emily said sternly and Lily grinned, before the two disapparated.

"Looks like we're _finally _alone," James said, taking Lily's face in both of his hands, and Lily grinned up at him.

"There's still Anna, and Alan," she pointed out, and James shook his head.

"Doesn't count," he said, "Right now, you are stuck with me, and only me," he grinned, before leaning down to kiss her.

**

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Hey guys! That was the first chapter. I'm sorry if it was a bit slow/boring (: stay tuned I promise it'll get better! **


	2. Muggle Studies

**Hello everybody. Thank you so much for the surge of reviews and adding of the story and me in many various ways. It's totally encouraged me to update faster. I swear, I logged onto my email this morning (I posted it at 11 at night) and I had 86 emails from , and then two hours later I checked again and there were 29 more. You guys are amazing (:**

**Thank you for supporting this story, and to answer a few of you, it's not going to be all lovey-dovey, otherwise it would just be boring (:**

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Disclaimer: Not mine but I really wish it were**

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* * *

Previously:**_

_Lily and James reunited after being apart for two weeks. Lily went for dinner to the Potter Mansion_

* * *

"So how was dinner?" Andrew asked over breakfast the next morning. Lily had come home pretty early, which had made him extremely curious.

"It was great. Emily and Daniel had to go for an emergency meeting with the Order, so James and I had dinner together," Lily shrugged, and Andrew frowned slightly worriedly

"The Order? Does that mean that evil man is getting better?" Andrew asked worriedly, and Lily felt her mouth twitch as Andrew described the darkest wizard of all time as 'that evil man'.

"Yes," she said, "And that's why I'm becoming an Auror, to fight him," she said determinedly, and Andrew's face paled slightly.

"You're going to be the death of me. You will be the reason my hair turns grey and starts falling out," he muttered, as he stood up to put his cereal dish in the sink. Lily had been doing the dishes since she had come back, since it took her a few seconds, while it took her mother about twenty minutes.

"Only if you worry unnecessarily," Lily muttered back teasingly, and Andrew chuckled.

"Sweetheart, I'm your father. It's my job to worry unnecessarily," he said, kissing her forehead, and Lily grinned up at him.

"But if you worry unnecessarily, Merlin forbid your hair starts turning grey, or falls out!" Lily said in a faux-shocked tone, and Andrew gasped, before rolling his eyes and ruffling Lily's hair.

"I'm going to go to work," he said, picking his briefcase up from by the table, "Care to poof me there?" he asked, and Lily rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth to correct her father, "I was joking Lilykins," her father chuckled, before grabbing the car keys, "Adieu!" he yelled, and Lily laughed. She listened to the sound of the car pulling out of the driveway before waving her wand lazily, setting the dishes in action. She turned around and trudged up the stairs to her bedroom. She had been woken up especially early by a howler from Hestia, who had explicitly instructed her she had to be at the new apartment at eight.

"Bloody eight in the morning…stupid friend…" Lily muttered darkly. Lily, even though she had graduated from Hogwarts, had not grown up. Sleep was still the top priority. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table, which did _not _have an alarm clock built in, to see that it was 7:40. Good thing she knew how to apparate, or she'd have been in a frenzy at that moment. She could leave at eight and still get there at eight. Ah, the joys of being magical. Lily shut the door behind her and decided to start getting ready. She grabbed the clothes she had decided to wear, that were both comfortable and that Hestia would approve of, and laid them on her bed. Lily pulled her pajama top off over her head, when her door flew open. Lily screamed and covered herself up. She wasn't completely naked, but still.

"Honestly Lily," her mother huffed, after calming herself down after her daughters scream, "I've seen it all before," she said, seating herself down on her daughters bed.

"That was different, some body parts didn't exist back then," Lily muttered, pulling the top she was going to wear on over her head.

"Same difference," Jane said, shaking her head, then looked down at the clothes on the bed, "where are you going?" she asked curiously. Lily might be a fully qualified witch, and an adult in her world, but she was still only a child.

"I'm going to the flat," Lily shrugged, and Jane's eyes widened.

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME YOU FOUND A FLAT!" she yelled, jumping up, and Lily grinned sheepishly, "Explain yourself," her mother huffed, crossing her arms.

"Well, when I came back yesterday you were too busy drooling on my boyfriend for me to tell you," Lily said, and Jane narrowed her eyes at her daughter, who only gave her a cheeky grin, "And when I came home after dinner you had gone to bed," Lily shrugged, and Jane sighed.

"Fine you win," she muttered, and Lily grinned, satisfied. How many times did someone hear his or her mother say that? "So, when can I come see it?" Jane asked, and Lily sighed.

"When we're done fixing it up. We'll invite you and Hestia's parents over," Lily said, and Jane nodded, satisfied.

"What about the Potters?" she asked, and Lily rolled her eyes. If Jane was infatuated with James, it was no comparison to how infatuated she was with James's parents. It was pathetic, really.

"We're not their children," Lily pointed out. Her mother nodded but Lily thought she heard her mutter something along the lines of, 'when you're married you will be', which Lily pointedly chose to ignore.

"When will you be back?" Jane asked, and Lily shrugged.

"Well, after the apartment thing, James and I are going out," Lily said, and Jane's eyes narrowed. She and James had discussed it the previous night, which was why James had actually allowed Lily to go home, with the thought of seeing her the next day in mind.

"Where?"

"I don't know," Lily shrugged, "London?"

"By yourself?" Jane asked threateningly, and Lily huffed.

"Mum, I am perfectly capable-"

"Will you be alone?" Jane cut in, ignoring Lily's little rant, and Lily shrugged.

"Well, I am a fully qualified witch," she pointed out, and her mother continued to look at her, "I don't know anything mum! James planned it," she said, and her mother relaxed.

"Well, if James planned it…" she said dreamily, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I should have opened with that," she muttered to herself, before turning, fully dressed, to apply eyeliner and do her hair, "Of course, if dear Jamesie-poo darling, the bloody Prodigal son, planned it out…"

"Did you say something?" Jane piped up, and Lily shook her head, smirking slightly, "Well, I'll see you later then, I'll be at the spa," Jane said excitedly, and Lily grimaced slightly, knowing her mum would want to take her in a few days because it had been 'oh so relaxing' and 'so rejuvenating'.

Honestly, sometimes Lily hated being a female. Why did it matter what your nail beds looked like? It wasn't like a male was going to closely examine them. She would know, she spent her time with Sirius Black, who was probably the pickiest person in the world when it came to women, and not yet had he ever tossed a girl because her nail beds didn't look healthy.

"Bye mum," Lily said, standing up straight, pulling out her wand to do her hair.

"Lily?" her mother asked, and Lily turned to look at her, "I don't feel like showering," she said, eying Lily's wand, and Lily rolled her eyes, "And I'm getting late…" Jane said suggestively. Lily chuckled and waved her wand. Jane felt a cool sensation all over her body and then felt her hair, which was now clean and bouncy, fall back into place, "Thank you darling! See you later!" Jane said happily, rushing out of Lily's room. Lily chuckled and grabbed her purse, which she filled with money, muggle and wizard, a cell phone, which her parents had given her in case of emergencies, and her wand. Lily turned to look at the clock, to see it was 7:59 and grinned, before disapparating.

"Hello," Lily sung, looking at Hestia, who arrived at the apartment the exact moment she did. Hestia squealed and hugged her friend.

"I'm so glad we're going to be living together, I miss you too much," Hestia said happily, before looking around, "So, where to start?" she asked, looking at Lily, who shrugged, "You're _useless_," Hestia muttered, and Lily grinned. Hestia looked at what Lily was wearing and nodded her approval, "good girl," she said, and Lily sighed, running her hand through her hair, which she had decided to leave open, arranging it so it fell nicely on the shoulders of her maroon v-neck and dark denim Capri pants.

"Should we start with the living room?" Lily asked, and Hestia nodded happily. Lily pulled her wand out, to start conjuring up furniture, but Hestia huffed and took Lily's wand, "What are you doing?" Lily hissed, as Hestia put her wand into her own purse.

"Lily, this is our flat. We are not conjuring up furniture. We are going to do it the old fashioned way," Hestia declared, pulling out a checkbook. Lily groaned and stomped her foot, "Plus, the flat was a lot under our budget, so we have more than enough to buy furniture," Hestia grinned, and Lily groaned.

"Hest!"

"No Lily this is not up for negotiation," Hestia said sternly, and Lily sighed, knowing it was a lost cause.

"Do we have to do it _now_?" Lily asked. After all, it was only eight in the morning, which, in her opinion, was too early to do anything, let alone go shopping, with _Hestia _of all people.

"Yes Lily we do! I start work tomorrow, and your first Auror training thing is tomorrow. We. Will. Not. Have. Time."

"Fine," Lily sighed. Hestia did have a point, "Can I have my wand back?" she asked, holding out her hand, and Hestia smiled sweetly, handing it back to her, "Honestly sometimes I think you're bipolar," Lily muttered, and Hestia laughed cheerfully.

"I love you too dear, shall we?" Hestia said, holding out her hand. Lily took Hestia's hand and allowed Hestia take her to Merlin knew where.

* * *

"When is she coming back?" Emily asked, barging into the boys room in the wee hours of the morning.

"Flargmerf," James muttered, swatting his hand in the direction of the irritating noise, which was his mother.

"Hmmphnem," Sirius mumbled, putting his pillow over his head. Emily laughed at the two boys before crossing her arms.

"James when is she coming back?"

"Flargmerf," James sighed, and Emily huffed. She turned to look at Sirius, who had fallen back to sleep, snoring lightly with his mouth hanging open. Obviously he wasn't going to help, at least James was remotely awake. Emily leaned down and pulled James's pillow out from under his head, resulting in his head crashing down onto the mattress, "Bloody hell," James muttered, opening his eye blearily to see his blurry mother looking down at him.

"James Potter watch your language," she said sternly, and James closed his eyes, turning his head to face the other way, "JAMES! When is Lily coming back?"

"They're going on a date tonight, so probably tomorrow," Sirius huffed, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes, "Please stop yelling you're interrupting my beauty sleep," he said, grinning drearily up at her, before flopping down onto his mattress. Emily grinned and turned back to her son, who was breathing deeply once more. Emily smiled and walked out of the door.

"LILY! What are you doing here?" she squealed. At once, James sat up and ran unstably out of the room. He saw his mother leaning on the wall of the hallway, smirking at him, and narrowed his eyes at her.

"That's unfair," he whined. Emily giggled and kissed her son on the cheek.

"Morning pumpkin. Wake up, it's eight already and you two are meeting Remus at the Leaky in thirty minutes."

"I wasn't aware of this meeting," Sirius mumbled, walking out of the bedroom.

"That's because I arranged it," Emily shrugged, before patting her groggy sons cheek and walking down the hallway to wake her husband up…again.

"James I hate your mother," Sirius muttered, leaning his head on the wall, and slowly drifting off.

"Are you sleeping standing up?" the still sleepy James asked incredulously.

"Anything is comfortable when you're this tired mate," Sirius said, yawning, and James rolled his eyes. Sirius had only come back at midnight the previous night, after spending the whole evening with Hestia doing Merlin knows what

"This is why you don't stay up so late," James chastised, shaking his finger at Sirius as they made their way to the dining room

"Totally worth it mate," Sirius winked, and James covered his ears.

"I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!" he yelled, closing his eyes. James continued to walk, yelling at Sirius, before suddenly screaming and falling down the stairs. He looked up at Sirius, who was doubled over in his laughter, "SOME WARNING WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE!" he yelled, standing up and brushing himself off, but Sirius continued to hyperventilate, "I hope you get eaten by a hippogriff," James muttered, walking to the dining room, rubbing his butt.

"I LOVE YOU TOO PRONGS!"

* * *

"Lily I can't decide!"

"For the love of Merlin Hestia!"

"But they're both good!"

"Hestia, just pick one!"

"Which one do you want?"

"I honestly could not care less, bloody pick one!"

"But Lily this is an important decision," Hestia said seriously, regarding two different lampshades. They were both the same shade of lavender, but one had tassels and the other one did not. Lily had been standing there for twenty minutes watching Hestia decide between the two of them.

"No it's not! It's a lampshade!"

"Lily, lampshades are important," said Hestia patiently, the level of wisdom in her voice irritating Lily. A lampshade was a lampshade, how much deeper could you go with that?

"Just _pick_," Lily said darkly, and Hestia sighed. She closed her eyes and started to snap her hand around, and Lily sighed. Hestia stopped and opened her eyes, to see her finger pointing to the one with tassels

"No but I want this one," Hestia said, picking the other one up, and smiling satisfactorily, handing it to the poor salesperson, female thankfully, who was responsible for the two of them. Lily huffed and followed Hestia as she turned and made her way to the sofas.

"If I were you, I'd _Silencio_ her," the salesperson muttered, and Lily giggled.

"Don't think I haven't considered it," Lily said, and she laughed.

"LILY!"

"Yes your majesty?" Lily muttered, as she willed her feet to walk over to where Hestia was

"I found the perfect couch," Hestia declared. Lily looked down at it and wrinkled her nose. It was hot pink.

"That thing is not entering my flat," Lily said bluntly, and Hestia groaned.

"Lily!"

"It's hot pink!"

"We can change it's colour!"

"You swear?" Lily said, turning to her friend, who nodded enthusiastically. Lily narrowed her eyes and held out her pinky, and a grumbling Hestia took it, "You can't break that or fairies die," Lily said sternly, and Hestia giggled and nodded.

"Sit down on it," Hestia said, and Lily obliged, just so Hestia would stop talking. Lily sunk onto the sofa and groaned. It was the best sofa she had ever sat on in her life, "Told you," Hestia said smugly and turned to the salesperson, "This one please," she said happily, and the lady nodded. She pointed her wand to the sofa, which vanished, having been sent to their flat. The salesperson was taking notes on how much they would have to pay.

"Are we done?" Lily asked excitedly, and Hestia rolled her eyes.

"We still have to get beds," she said, and Lily shook her head abruptly.

"I'm taking my bed," Lily said. How could she possibly part with her bed?

"Well _I _need a bed," Hestia declared, pulling Lily towards the beds, and Lily groaned.

"You _have _a bed, at your house," Lily pointed out, and Hestia snorted.

"It's a single bed"

"I'm sorry I didn't realize that you needed a king sized bed for your bloody giant body," Lily teased, and Hestia stuck her tongue out

"Well if Sirius comes over…" Hestia said, and Lilly flushed, "Exactly," Hestia grinned as she saw Lily's skin darken, "Your bed is already king sized so that's okay," Hestia winked, and Lily groaned.

"You have just ruined the magic of my bed for me," Lily whined, and Hestia grinned.

"So when do we move in?" Hestia asked cheerfully, and Lily shrugged.

"When we're done setting it up,"

"We'll be done by tonight," Hestia huffed, and Lily laughed

"Fine, then how about in two days," Lily suggested, and Hestia pouted

"Why are we waiting until Tuesday?" Hestia asked, as she examined the bed closest to her.

"I want to have one last day in my house," Lily shrugged, and Hestia sighed, "It'll all be set up, all we have to do is come here," Lily pointed out, and Hestia sighed even louder.

"Fine," Hestia huffed, crossing her arms, and Lily grinned, "I like this one," she said, gesturing to the bed in front of her. Lily shrugged awkwardly and Hestia laughed, "I'll take this one," Hestia said, pointing to the bed, and the salesperson, who'd been _trying _to ignore their conversation. She smiled politely and waved her wand.

"We're done!" Lily rejoiced, and Hestia rolled her eyes.

"You need to learn to enjoy shopping," Hestia huffed as they made their way to the counter to pay up.

"I enjoy shopping, you just take it overboard," Lily grinned, and Hestia rolled her eyes.

"You are impossible"

"Hypocrite." The girls continued to bicker until the clerk cleared his throat, amused.

"Hi," Hestia said flirtatiously, and Lily stomped on her foot, "Bloody _ow _Lily!" Hestia squealed, and Lily grinned.

"How much?" Lily asked, as the clerk, who looked to be in his late thirties, watched them, his eyes twinkling. He turned the screen around and Hestia grinned.

"We, my dear, have just used up our budget," Hestia declared, and Lily grinned.

* * *

"MOONY!"

"PADFOOT! PRONGS!" Remus exclaimed, as his two mates strode into the Leaky. Remus had been staying with his parents the whole summer, and had honestly enjoyed himself bonding with his parents. His father, who had regarded it as his fault that Remus had been bitten, hadn't been able to look his son in the eye, that is, until this summer, but Remus had missed his mates. Nothing was crazy without them.

"HI!" Sirius yelled, standing in front of Remus and embracing him in a brotherly hug. Remus chuckled and turned to hug James as Sirius released him.

"I missed you two," Remus chuckled, looking at the two idiots.

"I told you he was in love with me," Sirius said in a stage whisper to James, who shared a look with Remus, shaking his head fondly

"I believe it was me he was referring to," James said, and Sirius snorted.

"Obviously not, I'm the handsome good looking one," Sirius pointed out, and both James and Remus snorted, "OI!" Sirius yelled.

"Some things will never change," Remus grinned, throwing his arm around James's shoulder, "So what are we doing today?"

"Let's walk around Diagon Alley," Sirius declared, and the other two looked at him.

"Excellent idea Pads," James said sarcastically

"Bloody brilliant. Who would've thought," Remus snorted.

"Hey! You might have had something else in mind," Sirius said defensively

"Doubt it, we're right next to Diagon Alley, where else would we go?" James challenged, and Sirius opened and closed his mouth, like a fish, as his two friends laughed at his lack of comeback

"Oh go to hell," Sirius muttered, pulling his wand out and tapping the bricks on the wall.

"Is that any way to speak to your best mates?" Remus asked, grasping at his chest, and James snickered as Sirius turned to narrow his eyes at the werewolf.

"Bite me," Sirius said, sticking his tongue out at Remus, who froze slightly, before laughing. He was always uncomfortable around the werewolf references, but they happened so often with his friends that he had learnt to accept it.

"So are we actually getting that flat? Or are we living in the mansion?" Sirius asked, and James looked at Remus, who shrugged

"I don't mind any," James said, looking at Remus, "I mean, the mansion _does _have 42 rooms, and it has large grounds where Moony could run around during his, er, times," James grinned, and Remus laughed.

"I think it'd be nice to live in the mansion," Sirius sighed, and Remus shook his head, "What?"

"I don't want to intrude on your parents," Remus said, looking up at James, who sighed. It was true, his parents really didn't need four Marauders running around their house.

"We'll find a flat," James said, and Sirius shrugged. He was fine, as long as he got to stay with his mates

"Well, my uncle Alfred leant me a lot of money in sixth year when I left home so I could buy a flat, but I decided to stay with you, so I still have that money," Sirius shrugged, and James grinned.

"I have a budget for buying a flat," Remus said, and James nodded.

"Me too"

"It's final, we're going to get a flat," Sirius said, and dragged them towards the realtors office

"We need Wormtail to be here as well though!" Remus said, and Sirius snorted

"Wormtail will manage. This is what he gets for spending so much time with his mummy," Sirius sneered, and the two others chuckled as they made their way into the realtors, "Hello we want a flat," Sirius said bluntly, and all the clerks behind the desks chuckled.

"Someone will be out in a moment, name?" a blonde asked, looking at all three boys as if the sun shone from them.

"Potter, Lupin, Black and Pettigrew, but he's not here right now," said Remus politely, and the blonde nodded, trying to look away from them long enough to write it down. She stood up and handed it to someone, who nodded.

"Thank you gorgeous," Sirius winked, causing her to blush, before turning around and flopping down onto the sofa, which was clearly meant for waiting.

"And you told Hestia off for flirting," James muttered, and Remus laughed.

"He told Hestia off? Bloody hypocrite," Remus chuckled, shaking his head at Sirius, who rolled his eyes

"That's completely different. She's an extremely attractive female who males can take advantage of, and would," Sirius said slightly uncomfortable at the thought, and Remus snickered, "Prongs understands! What if Lily-flower was shamelessly flirting with someone?" he asked, and James's jaw clenched, "Exactly!"

"Alright, alright," Remus said, leaning back. Sirius grinned happily and James rolled his eyes.

"Would you be Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, and Mr. Lupin?" a voice said, which James found vaguely familiar. James looked over and felt his jaw clench as he recognized the agent that Hestia and Lily had been with the previous day. The bloke seemed to recognize James and Sirius, and James saw his face pale slightly, "Oh…hi," he said in a suddenly dry voice.

"You again," Sirius said harshly, standing up, and Remus stepped on his foot.

"Thank you for doing this," Remus smiled, and Tyler smiled at him slightly, "We're looking for a flat, hopefully near a forest," Remus said, and Tyler frowned, and then nodded.

"I've got a few places," he said. He had decided to talk to Remus, who didn't seem to be trying to murder him with his eyes like the other two were. Man did Tyler take back flirting with the two attractive girls yesterday, "Shall we?" he said awkwardly, gesturing out the door, and Remus smiled at him, leading his three friends out.

"What is wrong with you two?" Remus hissed to James.

"That's the agent who was ogling our girlfriends yesterday," James hissed back, and Remus's eyes widened, and then he nodded in understanding.

"Let me do all the talking then," Remus sighed, and walked up to catch up with Tyler.

"Do you think he'd notice if I cruciated him?" Sirius asked innocently, and James laughed.

"It's going to be a weird day," James sighed, and Sirius nodded.

"Just as long as he doesn't check out _my _legs I'll leave him alive"

* * *

"Lily turn that slightly"

"Which way?"

"That way"

"Hestia I cant see you!"

"Fine, er, right"

"Do you not know your sides?"

"Oh shut up its not necessary to know. I know them as Janet and Ashley," Hestia said, and Lily giggled, "No wait, turn it to the left"

"Better?"

"Actually wait, a little to the right…aaaaand stop"

"Hestia that is exactly how it started!" Lily yelled, as she stood up from the coffee table, which she had been turning because Hestia, as proven, could not be trusted in moving furniture. They had laid out the general plan using magic, but the finer details required manual labour, "I wish James was here, he actually enjoys doing hard labour," Lily sighed, rubbing her back, which was hurting from all the leaning over. She had transfigured her clothes into short shorts and a large t-shirt with her hair tied up in a knot whilst she worked on her flat. Hestia, too, was wearing similar, but less comfortable, attire.

"It doesn't hurt to try every angle," Hestia said, and Lily grumbled.

"Doesn't hurt _you_," Lily muttered, and Hestia threw her a cheeky grin. She pulled the lampshades out of the box and then placed them on the two lights that they had on the wall.

"See, if I had bought the tasseled ones they would have looked tacky," Hestia said, eying the lampshades, and Lily chose to blatantly ignore her. Lilly turned to the stupid sofas, which were all the same shade of obnoxiously hot pink, and pulled her wand out, "What are you doing?" Hestia asked warily

"We are now going to have cream coloured couches," Lily said, and Hestia whined.

"I WANT WHITE ONES!"

"Hestia we'll dirty them!"

"We're magical! We can put a charm on them!"

"Oh fine," Lily muttered, and turned the stupid pink sofas white, "Much better," she sighed, before waving her wand and setting a protection charm on the sofas, which would feel better, but dirt and food (which would happen if the boys ate over) fell on them it would just vanish. That way, the sofas wouldn't get dirty and Lily and Hestia wouldn't have to do extra cleaning. Ah, the joys of being magical.

"The walls are really boring," Hestia commented, looking at the white walls

"We should make them a better colour," Lily agreed. Her flat looked like it had recently been sterilized.

"PINK?"

"NO Hestia," Lily said, and Hestia pouted slightly.

"Pale yellow?"

"Cream?"

"Peach?"

"Really Hest."

"Um…umm…WE SHOULD MAKE THE WALLS LAVENDER!"

"NO. I am not living in a lavender house. That is final," Lily said, crossing her arms, and Hestia pouted, "How about, we can make our room any colour, but you cannot do that out here, because people will be here," Lily pointed out, and Hestia grinned.

"My room will be pink," Hestia said happily

"I thought your favorite colour was orange," Lily said, raising an eyebrow, and Hestia shrugged

"It is my favorite colour. But I've always wanted to have my room pink," Hestia grinned, and Lily rolled her eyes. Hestia's eyes widened and she turned to look at Lily, "MERLIN LILY! We can make the walls a _really _light shade of orange!"

"That's actually not a bad idea, but wouldn't that be cream?" Lily smirked, and Hestia stuck her tongue out

"Really light orange"

"Okay," Lily shrugged, and waved her wand. The walls of her flat turned 'really light orange', also known as cream, and she smiled at them happily, "Okay, it doesn't look too clean now," she grinned, and Hestia laughed

"It looks cozy now," Hestia smiled, looking around, and then grinned at Lily, "Can you believe we have a flat?"

"No, I honestly cant," Lily chuckled, before walking away

"Where are you going?"

"To do my room," Lily said, and Hestia grinned.

"I'm going to do mine!" she squealed, sprinting into her room, avoiding all the furniture. Lily chuckled and walked into her own room, and looked around. She, well, Hestia, had bought them two large cupboards, dressing tables, desks with rolling chairs, full length mirrors, and sofas for their rooms. Lily sighed and pulled her wand out, and began to transfigure parts of her room, as well as move around the furniture she couldn't be bothered to carry.

The bathroom door was a rich mahogany colour, which Lily instantly fell in love with, so she changed the colour of her orange-y cupboard the exact colour of the bathroom door. She changed the desk and dressing table to be the same colour as well and smiled in satisfaction, before moving them around.

She left a space for her bed, which was going to be across from the bathroom door. The cupboard was next to the bathroom door, leaning against the wall next to the door and her desk was across from her bed. Her dresser was in the corner next to the large window, which took up the top half of one of the walls. Underneath the windows, Lily transfigured the wall to stick out slightly, so she could sit on it, and conjured up cushions of bright colours of the rainbow, and laid them out there. After all, Lily liked colour. She grinned and then arranged her full-length mirror so that it was right next to her dresser. Lily looked around the large room, which she had expanded to make bigger using magic, and grinned. Once her bed, her stuffed toys, and her books were in here, it would be her dream room. With a final wave of her wand, Lily conjured up short curtains, that were the appropriate length for the short windows, and net curtains that she could close during the day. She then changed the colours of her walls to be a creamy colour, and grinned. She liked her room.

There was a high-pitched squeal and Lily drew her wand warily. It was dark times, and if one heard a squeal or any noise of terror, one was to be alert. She walked out, wand drawn, and heard another squeal. Lily rolled her eyes and put her wand away as she realized it was just Hestia squealing of glee. Lily smiled to herself as she walked to Hestia's room

_Look at me all aware, I might make an Auror yet. Watch out world, here comes Lily Evans, Auror extraordinaire. _

Lily walked into Hestia's room and felt the intense urge to run away. Why? The walls were hot pink. Not regular pink, not baby pink, no. they were obnoxiously, hot fuchsia pink.

"My eyes!" Lily yelled, covering her eyes

"I know right? Isn't it bootyful?" Hestia cooed, looking around her room

"I can't believe they let you into the _Daily Prophet _with that kind of grammar," Lily chuckled, blinking around at the pink room. The walls were pink. Why would anyone want such blindingly pink walls?

"Shut up Lily. You're just jealous because my room is pinker than yours," Hestia said, sticking her tongue out at her best friend.

"You got me," Lily nodded sarcastically, and Hestia giggled. Lily sighed and looked down at her watch, "I should get going, I'm going to go home for lunch," Lily said. She couldn't believe it was only lunchtime. She felt like they had been doing this for days. Right on cue, 'I wanna hold your hand' by The Beatles sounded around the house.

"What's that?" Hestia asked, as Lily ran out to her room, Hestia on her heel. Hestia looked around Lily's room and grinned; it was so Lily. Lily grabbed her purse and dug through it, finally pulling out the stupid cell phone, "What in the name of Merlin is that?" Hestia asked, but Lily ignored her and pressed the little green phone button.

"Hello?" Lily said, and Hestia turned around, to see who Lily was talking to, causing Lily to giggle, and point to the phone. Hestia squinted at it and jumped slightly as a voice sounded from it.

"Lilykins where are you?"

"Sorry daddy we just finished arranging the flat. I'll be there in a jiffy for lunch"

"Come soon I'm hungry, and I'm stuck with your mother"

"Love you too"

"Yeah, yeah," Andrew hung up and Lily chuckled, hanging up the cell phone

"What _is _that?" Hestia asked in wonder, grabbing the cell phone from Lily, looking down at it as if it was Merlin's wand or something.

"It's called a cell phone. Muggles use it to communicate"

"It's so much more efficient than sending patronusses and letters. So I can use this to call you from anywhere?" Hestia asked, and Lily nodded

"Does it have a sonorous charm inside it or something so the other person would be able to hear you? Or is it related to flooing?"

"No Hestia, it uses batteries," Lily chuckled, and Hestia's eyebrows flew up

"What's a badderie?"

"Battery," Lily repeated, and then sighed, "I'll explain later, I'm going to go home for lunch"

"Can I come?" Hestia asked, and Lily nodded, "Hey," Hestia said, pulling her to a stop, "That song that was playing…"

"That was my ring tone. When someone calls me to talk to me then it makes a noise so I'll be able to get it," Lily explained, and Hestia grinned

"That's so cool," she declared, "Isn't that song the one James sung to you in first year, and on the last day of school?" Lily flushed slightly and nodded. It had become her favorite song since he had, "Can I get one?" Hestia asked excitedly, and Lily laughed

"You want a cell phone?"

"Yes!" Hestia said happily, and Lily laughed

"We'll go out and get you one after lunch," Lily assured her, and Hestia grinned. Lily grabbed her friend's hand and spun on the spot, imagining her mother's kitchen, where a lot of squealing would ensue once the Evanses realized their goddaughter was joining them.

* * *

"I FOUND MY ROOM!"

"I'm going to go crazy," Remus muttered. Sirius had yelled that in every flat they had seen, and they had seen twenty. Honestly that boy had no limits. Tyler, who was trying his best to stay out of Sirius and James's way, coughed slightly, trying to cover up a laugh. They were funny boys, he had to admit.

"I FOUND MY ROOM!"

"Prongs don't you dare," Remus hissed, squeezing James's arm.

"Bloody hell Moony that hurt," James whined, rubbing his poor bicep. In truth, Moony did not look strong at all, but he actually was.

"Aw did I bruise your arm or your ego?" Remus chuckled, and James pouted

"Both!"

"My deepest apologies then," Remus said sincerely, and James grinned happily.

"MOONY COME SEE MY ROOM!" Sirius said excitedly, and Remus rolled his eyes, walking over to the kitchen. After all, if anyone was cooking it would be him, he did not want to be poisoned thank you very much, "He's boring," Sirius declared, and turned to James, "_You. _Come see my room!" he said, and grabbed James's arm so he wouldn't have an option. James knocked into several walls as Sirius dragged him into the depths of the flat. There were four bedrooms and James grinned. He could see the Marauders living in this flat. Sirius walked into the room furthest to the left and threw open the door, to reveal a small room.

"It's a tad small Padfoot don't you think?" James asked, and Sirius shrugged

"I can use an undetectable extension charm," he pointed out, and James nodded of course, "Plus, I like the view," Sirius grinned, looking out the window. James walked over to the window and looked out to see trees.

"It's extravagant," James said uncertainly, and Sirius grinned.

"I love waking up and looking at nature, it's so peaceful," Sirius said happily, and James smiled sincerely. It wasn't always Sirius was so open and childish, "Let's go find your room!" Sirius said excitedly, and pulled James out of his room. Sirius dragged James into the door across from his and James frowned, "You're not going to live _that _far away from me," Sirius snorted, and James laughed. Sirius pushed open the door and they looked around to see a room just like Sirius's, with the same view, only opposite. There was a door to a bathroom in the corner, and James looked inside it. After all, he would not be using a disgusting bathroom, no siree.

"I like it," James grinned, and Sirius beamed

"Me too!"

"We should check out the other rooms," James pointed out, and Sirius obliged. They walked to the other rooms to see similar rooms, only with different views.

"The Marauders could live here," Sirius declared, and James laughed

"Too right you are mate, where's Moony?"

"Right here," Remus said, coming up behind them.

"We like it," the two boys said in unison, and Remus chuckled

"I do too, and I call dibs on this room," Remus said, looking around, and the two shrugged

"Fine by me, I already picked mine. So did Padfoot. Looks like Wormy gets that one," James said, pointing to the last room. It was just as extravagant as the others, but they didn't like the placing of it.

"Fair enough," Remus shrugged, and then grinned, "But we have to explore the forest first"

"Too right you are," Sirius said with a wild glint in his eye. He started to make his way out but James grabbed him

"What are we going to tell Pryer?" he asked. Sirius and James had come up with a nickname for Tyler. They had decided on Pryer after 'Mr. I-Will-Rip-Off-Your-Penis-If-You-Look-At-My-Girlfriend-One-More-Time-How-Dare-You-Use-This-Realtor-Thing-As-An-Excuse-To-Attempt-To-Seduce-My-Girlfriend-How-Dare-You-Call-Yourself-A-Man-And-Your-Butt-Is-Huge' turned out to be a bit obvious. However, James and Sirius had had a great time designing it. It was going to be framed. Sirius had already written it down.

"He ruins everything!" Sirius whined, and Remus chuckled.

"How about, I stay here with him and you two explore it and check it out because I wont be in any state, at the time, to appreciate it. Also, I don't want him to be murdered, he has the forms," Remus pointed out, and the other two sniggered.

"You sure?" James asked, and Remus rolled his eyes and nodded. James grinned at him before him and Sirius ran to the window

"Do you trust me?" Sirius asked, holding his hand out

"Not at all," James said, and Sirius barked a laugh, before the two of them jumped out of the window. They landed in crumpled heaps on the floor, which they had magically cushioned so they wouldn't get hurt.

"Nice one," Sirius winked, and James laughed. How Sirius could not think of using a cushioning charm, James would never know. The two boys ran into the forest and began to explore. It was perfect. The trees were close together, but there was a large clearing in the middle. James stayed in the middle while Sirius went out to test the noise, and they were satisfied when Sirius could not hear James screaming at the top of his lungs. It wasn't dark in there, they were able to see one another, but at night it would be dark, "Excellent," Sirius grinned as they made their way back to the apartment. James levitated Sirius into the window, and Sirius proceeded to do the same. They walked out of the room and into the main living room, where Remus was having a deep conversation about shoes with Tyler. Shoes of all things.

_Moony is such a girl, _James smirked to himself. He turned to look at Sirius, who seemed to be thinking the same thing, and the two boys snickered together.

"So?" Remus asked, and Sirius winked, and Remus grinned, "We'll take it," Remus said, and Tyler beamed.

"Brilliant, now, we need to get back to the offices so you can sign papers and whatnot," he said, and disapparated, assuming the boys would find their way there

"Shoes Moony?" James smirked, and Remus rolled his eyes

"Bloke was very proud of his bloody shoes," Remus muttered and the boys laughed, before disapparating.

* * *

"How are we getting to the store?" Hestia asked excitedly after lunch was over. Andrew and Jane found it amusing that Hestia was so eager on a cell phone, and had handed Lily the car keys. Lily, after all, had her driver's license. She had passed the test the first week she had been apart from James, which had been a shock to nobody. Lily Evans never failed a test.

"I'm driving," Lily said, gesturing to the car in front of her, and Hestia's flame went out

"We're going there. In that." She said, pointing at the car, and Lily nodded, "Is it safe?"

"Do you trust me?" Lily asked, exasperated, and Hestia sighed, getting into the car. Satisfied, Lily got into the drivers seat, "Buckle up," she said, fastening her seat belt. Hestia looked at the strap next to her curiously, and pulled on it. She let it go and it flew back to it's spot the wall, causing Hestia to giggle

"That's so cool! Lily watch, watch," Hestia said, and repeated the action, giggling again. Lily rolled her eyes and reached over, fastening Hestia's seatbelt, "I was getting there!" she said indignantly, and Lily laughed

"Do it on the way back, I want to get there so we can get back faster, I don't want to get stuck in traffic," Lily said, and Hestia frowned

"Traffic?"

"A crowd of cars," Lily spouted out, and Hestia nodded.

"That sounds potentially problematic"

"Yep," Lily said intelligently, and turned on the accelerator. As the car hummed to life, Hestia screamed slightly

"It sounds like a dragon!" Hestia said worriedly, and Lily laughed; she couldn't help it, it was just too funny.

"It wont eat you, ready?" Lily said. Without waiting for an answer, she reversed out of the driveway, and then made her way down the street towards the store, which was about ten minutes away. After Hestia had gotten over the initial wincing, flinching, and squealing, which took about five minutes, she finally began to enjoy the ride

"This is actually really cool," she said happily, putting down the windows

"Hest! The AC is on!" Lily hissed, and Hestia frowned at her, "Its what makes the car cold," Lily explained and Hestia shrugged

"I want the window to be open"

"Then switch off the AC," Lily said, gesturing to the dashboard. Hestia looked at all the buttons and whimpered slightly. Lily giggled and pushed the button for the AC, "Now you can put your window down," Lily said, and Hestia grinned happily. She let the air flood into the car and grinned as it flew through their hair.

"I feel like I'm flying," Hestia grinned, and Lily rolled her eyes. Magical folk really needed to all take muggle studies. Hestia looked down at the button that made the window move, and began to play with it, moving the window up and down, fascinated.

"Hest, no matter how many times you press the button, it's going to do the same thing," Lily said patiently, pretending Hestia was a five year old, which, in Lily's defense, was what Hestia was acting like.

"It's still cool," Hestia said, but ceased playing with the button. By this time, they had reached the store, and Lily put the windows up, not bothering to let Hestia play with the button again. Lily carefully parked, trying to ignore Hestia's squeals of 'CAREFUL YOU'RE GOING TO CRASH!' and pulled the parking break, grinning to herself. No matter how many times she drove, it still gave her the same rush. Lily unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. Hestia attempted to follow her, but fell back as the seatbelt pulled her back; her legs sprawled out of the car. Lily laughed and walked over to her.

"You have to undo the seatbelt first Hest"

"I tried!" Hestia whined. Lily giggled and leaned over, pressing the button for her friend. The seatbelt flew back to the side of the wall and Hestia jumped out of the car, her hands flying to her hair. Lily shut the door and pressed the button to lock the car, which made a beep noise.

"Come on," Lily said, and Hestia frowned.

"Is it going to be okay?" she asked, looking at the car, and Lily snorted.

"It'll be fine, I have the keys," Lily said, waving them in front of Hestia's face for emphasis, and Hestia nodded, reassured. Hestia followed Lily into the supermarket, and gasped as they walked in

"There's so much food!" Hestia squealed, and Lily giggled.

"My kind of place," Lily agreed, before pulling Hestia's hand. There were little shops behind the cashiers, and Lily found a Nokia store, pulling Hestia in there, "Which one do you want?" she asked, gesturing to all the cell phones, and Hestia's eyes widened

"There are so many!" she squealed and Lily rolled her eyes. The woman behind the counter was looking at Hestia as if she was mad, which no doubt she was, and Lily smiled at her apologetically

"Sorry, it's her first cell phone," Lily said, and the woman smiled sweetly. Hestia continued to squeal, and asked to see almost all of the models. The woman behind the counter, however, instead of getting irritated, was enjoying herself. It wasn't everyday you got such an enthusiastic customer. Lily was standing next to Hestia and helping her decide which one was a better model. Finally, Hestia chose a cell phone, which happened to be exactly like Lily's, and Lily grinned at the smiling woman, "This one please, how much?"

"I'll pay!" Hestia said earnestly, but Lily shook her head. The woman handed them the purchase after they'd paid, fully charged, along with all the bits and bobs required, like a Sim-card, and bid them a good day. Hestia put the cell phone into her pocket happily and hugged Lily, "Best. Friend. Ever," she said, and Lily giggled.

"Want to get some food?" Lily asked, eying the supermarket, and Hestia laughed and nodded. Lily grabbed a basket and the two girls walked around. They made it to the chocolate aisle, of course, and looked around with wide eyes, as if they had just found buried treasure.

Lily was reaching for a packet of Dairy Milk chocolates while Hestia was in the bathroom, when suddenly there was someone standing in front of her. She shrieked and jumped back, and looked up into the laughing face of her boyfriend, "JAMES!" she squealed, throwing her arms around his neck. James grinned and hugged her back, "What are you _doing _here?" she asked, leaning back. She spotted Sirius and Remus and squealed, "REMUS!" she squealed, hugging the werewolf, who hugged her back tightly, "Merlin I've missed you! Hello!" she said, hugging Sirius, who barked a laugh and hugged her.

"What are you doing?" James asked, eying the basket of food.

"Don't tell me that's all for you?" Remus smirked, and Lily stuck her tongue out.

"No, Hestia's in the loo," she shrugged, and reached around James to grab the chocolates before she forgot. She reached down to put it in the basket when James, using his seeker skills, grabbed it.

"What, in the name of Merlin, is this?" he asked, looking down at the bag.

"That, my dear, is muggle candy," she said happily, and James's eyebrows rose. Sirius grabbed the bag and made to open it, but she smacked his hand and took the bag back, "I haven't paid yet!" she said, and Sirius grinned.

"Lily who are you yelli-oh!" Hestia said, coming around the corner. She squealed and hugged the three boys just as Lily had done, "What are you doing here?" she asked, and Lily turned to listen to their answer.

"We bought a flat!" James announced, and the girls squealed.

"Congratulations!" they squealed.

"Lily what's this?" Sirius asked, holding up a Toblerone.

"I LOVE THOSE!" Hestia squealed, grabbing the Toblerone from Sirius and throwing it into the basket

"It's chocolate," Lily said, ignoring her best friend, and Sirius grinned.

"Can I have some?"

"We'll all share," Hestia said, narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend, who grinned, "MERLIN guess what I bought!" she said, jumping up and down, and Lily grinned.

"What?" Remus asked, and Hestia grinned.

"A CELL PHONE!" she squealed, and Lily smacked her best friends arm.

"Shush! There are muggles shopping here," she hissed, and Hestia grinned sheepishly.

"What, in the name of Merlin, is a cell phone?" James asked. Hestia squealed and shoved her hand into Lily's pocket, causing all boys to raise their eyebrows. She pulled the black cell phone and held it up. Sirius gasped and pointed at it.

"Muggle studies! Communication!" he said, and Lily grinned and nodded.

"What does it do?" Remus asked, grabbing the cell phone. The three boys jumped as the screen lit up as he pressed a button.

"I'll demonstrate at home," Lily said, and gestured towards the cashier.

"What if they want one though?" Hestia asked, and Lily laughed

"I'll drive us back," she said, and Hestia nodded, satisfied.

"Drive?" James asked, and Lily sighed.

"This is what you get for being a muggle," Hestia grinned, kissing her friend on top of the head, "Let's go pay then go back in the _car!" _she squealed excitedly, and the boys raised their eyebrows, "You'll see," Hestia said, and the boys grinned. Lily began to pile food up, mostly junk food, onto the cashiers counter. The boys pushed her away and began to pile it up, looking at the food curiously as they put it down, muttering to each other. Lily ignored them and turned to the middle aged man who was manning the counter.

"How much?" she asked, and he smiled sweetly at her. Lily paid up and thanked the man. The boys picked up all the plastic bags and followed the girls eagerly to the car. Lily grinned to herself; this is what her life would be like if she had just been a muggle. Boys following her to her car, them all driving home together.

"Lily Evans?" she turned quickly to see a girl and a boy who seemed about her age leaning on the car next to hers.

"Er, yes?" she said. All the magical folk had turned to watch them, the boys by the trunk putting the food in there.

"OH MY GOD IT'S YOU!" the girl yelled, hugging Lily. Lily, flabbergasted, attempted to place the girl, "It's me! Emma Wilkins? We went to school together!" Lily's eyes widened in recognition and she grinned at her.

"Hi! Oh it's been so long! How are you?" she asked, looking at Emma. She and Emma had been inseparable before Lily had left for Hogwarts. She hadn't heard from Emma since.

"I'm brilliant! I got into Columbia! Isn't that amazing?"

"Columbia? Wow, that's, well, amazing! Congratulations!" Lily grinned. The magic folk were watching her in interest. They hadn't realized she probably had muggle friends.

"Oh I'm being so rude, this is my boyfriend, Jeremy Hansen, he moved here a few years ago," Emma said, and Lily smiled politely at the boy.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Lily," Lily grinned, and the boy shook her hand.

"You're being rude too, who are the supermodels?" Emma asked, winking at the three boys. The three boys frowned slightly, what were supermodels?

"Oh sorry," Lily said, turning around, "This is Remus, Sirius, James, and Hestia," she said, pointing at them respectively, and they smiled awkwardly, "James is my boyfriend, and Hestia's my best friend," she smiled, and Emma's eyebrows shot up

"I didn't know you were dating anyone," she said, and Lily shrugged, "Well that's great for you!"

"Em, we should go," Jeremy said, and Emma sighed.

"That is the sad truth. It was great to meet all of you," she said, smiling around at them, "Lily it was amazing to see you again! Thank god I got to see you at least once more before I left this place, bye!" with that, the two muggles drove away.

"Who was that?" Sirius asked as soon as the car was out of sight.

"She was my best friend before I went to Hogwarts," Lily shrugged, and they all nodded curiously, "Anyway, in the car," she said. Hestia had already seated herself inside excitedly. The boys looked at it warily, "It's safe," she sighed, and, taking her word, they all got into the car. Lily shut the door and heard the boys slam them behind her, "gently!" she hissed, turning around, and they smiled at her apologetically. James and Sirius were at the windows, with Remus stuck in the middle. Hestia was playing with her seatbelt again, and the boys were looking around the car in interest, "Hest," Lily said, and Hestia grinned cheekily, before doing exactly what Lily did, her seatbelt fastening.

"I DID IT!" she squealed, and Lily grinned and nodded.

"You too," she said, looking at the boys. It took them 12 minutes to figure it out, during which time a lot of smacking was involved. When they were finally done, Lily grinned and turned to the front, "Ready?" The boys nodded nervously, Hestia extremely enthusiastically, and Lily turned the key. The car hummed to life, and the three boys jumped as Hestia squealed.

"Windows!" Hestia squealed, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Give me a minute," Lily said. She put the gear in reverse and backed up, trying to concentrate while trying not to laugh at the boys' faces. They all looked so interested and fascinated. Once Lily had backed out of her parking space, she lowered all their windows.

"YAY!" Hestia squealed, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Are you allowed to do this?" Sirius asked nervously, and Lily grinned. She pulled her drivers license out of her back pocket and handed it to Sirius, who instantly relaxed. James took the license and grinned down at the picture of Lily. It had been magically modified to look better. Lily drove out of the supermarket, and within seconds, the car enraptured the boys.

"WHOOOOOOOO!" Sirius yelled out of the window as they sped down the road. Lily giggled and kept her eyes on the road. Sirius began to hang his head out of the window, his tongue lolling out, and Lily broke down into a fit of giggles. She stopped the car and allowed her hysterics to pass as they all laughed at her.

"Why are you laughing?" Remus asked, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Its just, you know dogs? Well, they're known for hanging their heads out of car windows like that," she giggled, and they all burst out laughing. Once Lily had clamed down, she started the car again and made her way home. On the journey, Hestia began to play with the window again. Sirius and James, fascinated, followed her lead, "Hestia!" Lily hissed, and Hestia grinned apologetically. They made it back to the house and Lily drove up the driveway, parking the car.

"Do we have to get out now?" Sirius asked, upset, and Lily rolled her eyes, nodding. She switched the car off and unlocked the doors. Undoing her seatbelt, the others following her lead, she opened the door and stepped out.

"How do I do this?" James asked, as he looked at the door. Lily giggled and walked around to his side, opening the door for him. James grinned up at her and Lily giggled again, walking around to open the trunk. Once it was open, the boys all started grabbing bags.

"I can-" she said, but they all turned to look at her, silencing her with a glare, "Fine," she shrugged. They all grinned, and, after they had shut the trunk, and Lily locked the car, closing the garage, the five of them made their way inside the house.

"Honestly Lily you just went to get-JAMES!" Jane squealed, hugging James. James chuckled and laid his bags down on the counter, before he hugged Jane back, "SIRIUS!" she squealed, moving onto the other mischief maker, who was pouting at the fact that she had said hello to James first, "REMUS!" she squealed, hugging him, "Hello Hestia did you have fun?" Jane asked, and Hestia grinned.

"Hi mum," Lily muttered under her breath, and Jane turned to her daughter.

"Put all those away properly," she instructed, before walking out of the kitchen as Lily spluttered and her friends laughed.

"Why is there so much-oh my god!" Andrew yelled, as he walked into the kitchen to see way too many people. They all laughed and Andrew grinned, walking around to hug the boys, "What are you doing here?"

"We went to find Lily and Hestia," Remus shrugged, and Andrew nodded.

"What did you buy?" he asked excitedly, turning to Lily

"Real food," she said, and Andrew grinned.

"Thank god, your mother was trying to feed me vegetables," he made a face, much to the amusement of everyone else, before kissing Lily's temple and walking out of the kitchen. Lily waved her wand and the plastic bags dumped the food onto the counter, and flew into the cupboard under the sink.

"Dig in," she said happily, and they all grinned. James grabbed Lily and dragged her out to the garage, "James where are we going?" she asked, and James closed the door behind him. He looked a bit troubled and she frowned up at him, "What is it?"

"I never, well, I never thought of you as a muggle," he said honestly, "It was nice seeing you as a muggle today, it seemed, natural," he said awkwardly, and Lily laughed.

"Are you kidding? The muggle stuff really irritates me sometimes," she shrugged, and James grinned down at her

"So you don't, you know, miss it?" he asked, and Lily shrugged

"My life is evenly balanced. When I come home I get to be a muggle," she said, "But I miss the magic world too much," she grinned, and James smiled down at her, "So are we going out tonight?" she asked, and James sighed.

"I think we're going to be pretty occupied here," he said, and Lily grinned.

"That's alright, we'll go out Tuesday night," she said, and James frowned.

"What's wrong with tomorrow?"

"I'm moving into my flat tomorrow," she said, and James grinned.

"I'll help you unpack," he said, and Lily shook her head

"We already arranged everything. All that has to go there now is my clothes, my books, and my bed," she said.

"And the toys?" he teased, and Lily stuck her tongue out at him.

"Toys are for those mature enough to be children," she said, and James laughed, kissing her on the cheek.

"Let's go eat more candy!" he said excitedly, and Lily laughed. James took her hand and the two of them made their way into the house.

"Tomorrow's our first day at Auror Academy," she said nervously, and James ran his hand through his hair.

"We'll be fine," he said, and Lily nodded, reassured.

**

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Hey everybody! Once again, thanks so much for the surge of reviews! I've decided to make the chapters long now, because since I'm irritating at updating sometimes, this way I compensate by writing long chapters (: Hope you like it! The next chapter's going to be on their first day Auror Academy. Keep tuned!**

**Happy fanfictioning!**


	3. Academy and Family

**Bonjour! Yes it is still I, I speak French, deal with it (: Hope you've been liking the story. I've been flooded with work, IB and everything, so I'm extremely lethargic and just wanting to get my mind of work when I write these, and it works! So I hope you're liking them (: **

**By the way, the site only let's me post to genre/category things. This isn't only going to be drama and romance. It's going to have a little bit of everything, but I could only pick two. Comedy is staying in here :D**

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Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling**

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Previously:**_

_Lily and Hestia furnished their flat. The Marauders bought a flat. Lily shows her muggle side. It's the first day of work for _all _of them._

* * *

"Lily wake up it's your first day at work!" her father urged her the next morning. Lily sat up quickly and looked around her nearly empty bedroom. The previous night, Lily couldn't sleep, so she had gone back and forth between her homes with her father, moving her books and lots of her clothes to the new flat. They had bumped into Hestia, who was also ridiculously nervous for her first day, with her father.

"Daddy I'm scared," Lily cried, sitting up and reaching for her father. Andrew smiled down at his legally adult daughter, who was reaching for him like she had when she was a baby, and sat down next to her, dressed in his office attire, and wrapped his arm around her as she leaned into him.

"Lily, sweetheart, you're going to be amazing," he said, brushing her hair out of her eyes, "now go and kick some Auror butt," he said enthusiastically, and Lily giggled, "What? I was trying to relate with you," he huffed dramatically, and Lily laughed.

"Thanks daddy," she said, and Andrew grinned. He ruffled her hair and got up.

"I have to go to work, and you are going to James's house before going to work, so you better hop to it," he said, clapping his hands. Lily groaned at the remotely loud and extremely irritating clapping and got out of bed. She had talked to James the previous night, and she was going to stop by his house so Emily could help her with her attire for her first day at the ministry. Ah, the magic of a wand. _Boys have it so much easier, _Lily muttered to herself in her mind, as she pulled on a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt. What did it matter what she wore if Emily was just going to transfigure it anyway? She shoved her wand, cell phone, and money in her pockets, before hurriedly running down the stairs.

"Morning mum!" she squealed, as she skid into the kitchen.

"Lily I have honestly never seen you so fast in the morning," her mother said, watching as her daughter practically sprinted around the kitchen. Lily grabbed a Pop Tart and ripped open the cover, "That's hardly breakfast," her mother scolded, and Lily grinned at her mother cheekily.

"I have to leave in like a minute to get to James's house before going to the Ministry," Lily said, and Jane smiled sadly. Both of her daughters were now grown up, her baby was moving out that night for gods sakes!

"You're going to come back before you move right? Jane choked, and Lily smiled sadly.

"I had to grow up some time mum," she said, and Jane wiped her eyes.

"I suppose so"

"And I will come back, I cant go without my bed!" she gasped, and Jane chuckled huskily, "I'll come home straight after work," she said, and then scrunched her nose, "that sentence sounds so weird," she said, and her mother laughed

"You're telling me," Jane chuckled, "I have to go to work too," she said, standing up, and eying Lily's outfit, "You're going like that?"

"No, Emily said she'd fix my outfit, since I have _no _idea what to wear to the ministry," Lily said, and Jane nodded.

"Anyway," Jane said, walking over to hug her daughter, "I will see you later. Your father and I are coming back around five, because that's when you're going to be done, I asked James," she said, in response to Lily's raised eyebrows, "so we will see you then, have a great day!" Jane said. She kissed daughter on the cheek before rushing out the door. Lily sighed and turned on the spot, grabbing another Pop Tart.

Lily's feet hit solid ground and she felt something bang into her, "oof!" she said, as the thing squeezed the breath out of her. She jumped back to see Remus looking extremely stressed, "Hi!" she squealed, and Remus girnned.

"I'm so nervous," he said, his skin a strange shade of green. Lily nodded in response, when there was a yell.

"Lily!" she turned quickly to see Emily waving her over, "Come on let me fix you." Lily smiled gratefully and followed Emily up the stairs, "James, Daniel and Sirius are in James's room because the two monkeys are too nervous to get dressed. Daniel is actually tying James's laces for the first time in 11 years," Emily chuckled, and Lily grinned. Emily stopped Lily when they entered her room and pulled her wand out, "Do you trust me?" Emily asked, and Lily nodded vigorously. Emily grinned happily, and began to transfigure Lily's clothes, "That's the kind of thing I wore on my first day," Emily shrugged, before turning around to look for a hair clip. Lily looked down to see herself dressed in black dress pants and a navy blue button down shirt, which had ¾ length sleeves.

"Thank you so much!" Lily breathed, feeling loads better. Emily grinned and waved it off.

"Lily, this is the only time I get to dress a girl after what happened," she said, her voice coated in sorrow, "Let me live!" Emily said happily, and Lily grinned. Emily, Daniel and James had all been better about the Alissa situation since Lily had joined their lives. She had sewed them up in a way. Emily tied Lily's hair back in a half ponytail, and then walked around, and smiled, "Perfect," she grinned, and Lily smiled, "just put on some eyeliner and lip gloss and you will be fine," she nodded, and Lily sighed, "Use mine, it's on the dresser," Emily said, pointing to the corner. Lily smiled at her gratefully and walked over to the mirror. Lily carefully applied her make up and turned back to face Emily, who nodded her approval, "good, now, have you had breakfast?"

"I had a Pop Tart," Lily said, as they made their way down the stairs.

"What on earth is a Pop Tart?" Daniel asked, coming around behind them, "Hello gorgeous," he said, smiling at Lily, "Oh and hello dear," he grinned down at Emily, who rolled her eyes, smiling.

"A Pop Tart is…er…this!" Lily said, holding up the still wrapped Pop Tart she was holding. Daniel looked at it curiously and Lily sighed, handing it to him, "He stole my food," she pouted, and Emily laughed.

"I'll have Alan bring you something"

"No really that's okay! I'm too nervous to eat," Lily squeaked, and Emily sighed.

"You'll be famished by lunch," Emily said knowingly, and then turned to look at Daniel, who had unwrapped, and was now examining the Pop Tart, "For the love of Merlin Daniel you eat it!" she hissed. Daniel grinned sheepishly and took a large bite of the Pop Tart, and his eyes widened.

"Thif ib abaving!" he said through his mouthful, and Emily gave him a stern look.

"Honestly, having Sirius in the house turns all the men into pigs," she muttered, and Lily giggled.

"I RESENT THAT!"

"Morning to you too Sirius," Emily said, massaging her ears. Sirius sauntered down the stairs, dressed in black dress pants and a button down white shirt rolled up to his elbows.

"Sirius I told you not to roll up the sleeves!" Daniel said, exasperated, and Sirius shrugged

"It adds character," he winked, and Daniel groaned.

"I can't believe we're going to be in the same office," Daniel muttered, and Lily giggled.

"I can't believe we're going to be in an office," Remus said, and Lily grinned at him. Remus grinned and walked over, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, "You look professional," he said, looking down at her outfit, and Lily grinned.

"I do don't I?" she smiled, looking at Emily, who laughed.

"I think the sleeves look wrong," Emily said, and waved her wand. Suddenly, Lily's sleeves were short and capped.

"You should take more off," Sirius said suggestively, and Lily glared at him.

"Hey," James said in a warning tone, entering the dining room. He was also wearing black dress pants, and a button down shirt, but his was pale blue, pulled back to reveal his forearms. Sirius grinned at James sheepishly and got back to his breakfast. They were going to be leaving in 10 minutes, and all the Aurors-to-be were extremely panicked.

"Where are the others?" Emily asked James, who shrugged.

"Others?" Lily asked

"Alice and Frank are coming here as well," Remus answered for him, and Lily's eyes widened.

"Really?" she squealed.

"No," Sirius said sarcastically, and Lily stuck her tongue out at him. There was a pop and suddenly two more people walked into the dining room.

"ALICE!" Lily squealed, and Alice grinned widely.

"LILY! HI!" Alice squealed, hugging Lily excitedly

"How was it with Gwenog?" Lily asked, and Alice grinned. She had spent a week with Gwenog that summer.

"Germany is amazing! Oh Merlin, but her Quidditch hours are insane," Alice said, "I'm still tired from having to wake up with them at 4 and only getting in late night."

"That sounds terrible," Lily grimaced, and Alice nodded, "Hi Frank!" Lily said happily, hugging Frank, who had finished greeting the Marauders.

"Hello Lily," he smiled, "you look professional"

"Thank you," Emily said, and they all laughed, "You ready to get going?" Emily asked, and they all paled.

"You'll be fine," Daniel said gently, putting his arm around Lily's shoulders and shaking her slightly. They smiled at him slightly and he grinned, "We'll see you at the ministry," he said, before taking Emily's hand and disapparating.

"I've never been to the Ministry," Lily said.

"Come with me," James said, holding his hand out. Lily grinned and took his hand. All the other magical folk had been some time or the other, and they all disapparated. Lily squeezed James's hand tighter in the nauseating darkness, and felt him squeeze back. Before long, Lily's feet were on the ground. She took a deep breath and looked around the street. James dragged the bemused Lily forwards and into the Ministry.

"Morning Mr. Potter," a man at the entrance said, "wand?" James pulled his wand out and the man examined it, "Have a nice day," he said, handing it back, "Morning Miss, wand?" Lily handed the strange man her wand, and he smiled, handing it back, "Have a nice day." James took Lily's hand, leading her towards the elevator as she admired the inside of the Ministry. It was gold everywhere, and there was a beautiful fountain in the middle, the money tossed in was donated to St. Mungos. James dragged Lily into the elevator, and the others followed.

The doors opened on the floor of Magical Law Enforcement, and the graduates walked out, "This way," James said, still holding Lily's hand.

"James!"

"I haven't seen you since diapers!"

"Nice to have another Potter in the Ministry!"

"Ah, mini-Potter!"

"J.P!"

"Do you know _everyone_?" Lily hissed, as they finally made it to the door saying '_Auror Headquarters' _

"Since diapers," he shrugged, "this is what happens when your parents are top Aurors," he added and Lily shook her head. They walked through the Auror offices, to a room in the back that said '_Auror Academy_' on a gold plaque. Emily and Daniel winked at them from where they were sitting, and Lily smiled at them, before following James through the door.

They all filed into the room and looked around. Lily was surprised to see that they made up the majority of the people there. She supposed not everybody wanted a life full of danger.

She, Lily Evans, ate danger for breakfast.

You know, danger in the form of Pop Tarts.

Those were dangerous.

Diabolic even.

_I'm going insane, _Lily thought to herself, breaking up her mental tirade on the danger of Pop Tarts.

They all sat down at the available seats. Lily counted the seats. There were only twelve. And there were six of them. Bloody Gryffindor courage. She didn't recognize the other people, and suspected that they were probably from other wizard schools around the world. This Ministry was world renowned for its brilliant Auror program, no wonder they all came here. Then again, there were only six of them. James was sitting next to her, Sirius next to him, and Remus next to _him. _Alice was on her other side, with Frank next to her.

Lily saw something flutter out of the corner of her eye.

"_Immobulus!" _Everyone in the room froze, except for a certain red head that had silently put up a shield charm as she saw the flutter. The air fluttered slightly and a man appeared. He was the most frightening thing Lily had ever seen. His face was covered in scars, he had a wooden leg that clunked when he walked, he had stringy hair, an unfriendly face, and most evident of all, he had a large, magical eye that swiveled around of seemingly its own accord, "Anyone free?" he asked in a scratchy voice. Lily raised her hand timidly and she saw shocked expressions from all the people around her, and flushed slightly, "Brilliant," he grinned, his smile looking wrong, "Name?" he asked, looking at her. Lily felt uncomfortable as his magical eyeball floated over her. She had a sneaking suspicion the eye could see though everything.

"Lily Evans," she said steadily, shocked that her voice was behaving.

"I remember your application. Cruciated on two occasions, once by You-Know-Who himself, is that correct?" he asked, and Lily winced slightly as she remembered.

"Y-Yes," she said, and internally cursed herself. _Now _her voice decided to irritate her. She had probably jinxed it before.

"Almost hit by the Avada Kedavra but blasted them at the last second?"

"Yes sir," Lily said, and she saw impressed looks in the other people's eyes. The creepy man nodded satisfactorily and gave her a beyond creepy, genuine smile.

"Ms. Evans here, is a prime example of what an Auror should be," he said, and Lily flushed, "Aware, fast on her feet, able to harm whilst being harmed, controlled. This is what we look for in Aurors. Not you pathetic, witty children who cant deflect a simple jinx," he sneered, looking around at the others. Lily smirked slightly and grinned at James, who was embarrassed at the fact that he was frozen, and his girlfriend was not, "Ms. Evans!"

"Yes," Lily said, pulling her wand out, turning to the front quickly, and he smirked.

"Good girl," he said, and Lily sighed, relaxing slightly. She had been momentarily scared that he was going to curse her to see if she could deflect it.

"Disregarding Ms. Evans, the rest of you were in here having fun, feeling safe, chatting with your friends. You assumed you were all safe because you were in the Ministry of Magic," he said, using jazz hands as he said the words 'Ministry of Magic'

"Well, the first rule of being an Auror. You are never safe," he said dramatically, looking all the people in the eyes, "There is always someone out there who wants to kill you. Even right now, dark forces want to murder you, and murder your loved ones. You need to be prepared, you need to know how to fight, and _you need to be aware._

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he yelled suddenly, and they all jumped. Well, Lily jumped, the rest of them would have, had they not been frozen. James felt his nose itch and groaned silently.

"If you were aware you wouldn't be sitting frozen in your seats right now," he said, looking around at the frozen ones, "This is not an easy world. This is not a safe world. This is not a world where you can rely on your past achievements. This is not a world where you are safe," he said dramatically, and Lily felt Alice squirm slightly next to her. Lily herself was starting to freak out slightly.

"You cannot rely on brains only, or guts only, or even both of them together, to make it as an Auror," he said, looking around, "Nepotism doesn't help either," he said, looking pointedly at James, and Lily sensed his need to muss up his hair, and shuddered slightly.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he yelled again, and Lily jumped once again.

"There are people in this world, who want nothing more than to kill you in your sleep. You are never sleep. Not when you're awake, not when you're asleep, not when you're shagging your girlfriend," he said, and Lily felt a chuckle bubble up her, but bit it back, not wanting to come across as an immature child. She felt her stomach flip as her heart rate sped up, scared.

The crazy man turned to look pointedly between her and James, and Frank and Alice, all four of their complexions darkening slightly. Could his magical eye see relationships? Then again, they were the only people sitting next to people of the opposite sex. Maybe it was in her file. Lily frowned as she wondered what her file contained. She'd have to find out somehow.

"Look around you, well, Ms. Evans, look around," he said, "People in here will die. People in here will get seriously hurt. People in here will be harmed by your doing, maybe not directly, but might dodge the wrong way, or fall over, or get hit by an enemy. Not everybody in here is going to live," he said, looking around, "I would offer up my intestines if you all made it out of this training alive," he said, and Lily gulped. Was he serious?

"Your best friend might not be your best friend. They might be an imposter. There might be death waiting you on your doorstep. When you step into the shower. Hell, there might even be an enemy in this room right now, watching us, plotting on how to kill us all!" Lily looked around nervously. Creepy man was really scaring her.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he yelled again, but none of them jumped. They were prepared for it.

"Now, those of you who are scared shitless, and want nothing but to run out of here to your mummies and switch profession, you're most welcome to," he said, but Lily noticed how he didn't unfreeze them to allow them the opportunity to run.

"To the rest of you, welcome to the team," he said. He waved his wand and they all unfroze. James took a large gulp of air, and then Lily felt all the eyes of the people in the class turn to look at her.

"How did you know?" he asked her in wonder, and Lily shrugged

"I thought something fluttered so I put up a shield charm just in case," she said, and James chuckled, as all her friends rolled their eyes fondly and leaned back in their chairs.

"Trust Lily Evans to get every question right," James chortled, and Lily stuck her tongue out at him, "Are you alright?" he asked, and Lily shook her head. She was extremely frightened. Was James going to die? Was she going to die? Was Sirius? Remus? Alice? Frank? "Me neither," James muttered, and took her hand in his. Lily twirled her fingers through his and relaxed slightly. James was here. She was okay. They were at Auror Academy. Not fighting a battle. Hell, there were fully trained Aurors right outside the doors!

"My name is Alastor Moody, and I'm your instructor, your mentor, your guru even, if you will," Creepy Man Moody chortled creepily, in a better mood, "I'm going to do my best to keep each and every one of you alive. I'm not going to succeed with all of you, but I'm going to try," he said, and Lily shuddered. If he was trying to be reassuring, it wasn't working. If he was trying to cause her stomach to fall out her bum and shatter on the floor, he was doing a pretty good job.

"Those of you who are more prepared," he said, nodding towards Lily, "Will fare better with this kind of life. You will make it through bigger battles, live through more," he said. James squeezed Lily's hand, not able to bear the thought of her dying, "Now, to start," he said. He pulled a chalkboard down, and Lily relaxed. This she could do. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Sirius and James sigh, and bit back a laugh. Lily conjured up a notebook and a muggle pen, which James stole out of fascination, resulting in her having to conjure up a few more because of Sirius and Remus, and started to take notes.

The notes were intense, for the first day. Even Sirius was taking rapid and detailed notes, which was saying something. Moody was throwing so much information at them, that Lily felt her hand was going to fall off from trying to get across the paper so fast. She felt the muscle underneath her pinky start to cramp but ignored it as Moody continuously pointed his wand at the board, making new things appear.

Finally, mercifully, it was lunchtime.

"We will be doing practical work after lunch," Moody announced, before disappearing.

"It's creepy how he does that," Alice said, and Lily giggled.

"How are you?" James asked, as they made their way out of the room together. Frank and Alice were going to stay in there; they had brought sandwiches. Remus and Sirius were walking behind them, talking to each other.

"I'm alive aren't I? Yay for me!" Lily said weakly, and James chuckled.

"Hats off to you," he said seriously, and Lily grinned.

"We need questions," Lily said, and James frowned at her, "for Imperius Curse circumstances," she said, and James nodded in understanding. Usually, he would have called her paranoid, but after the few hours they had just spent, he had been thinking of ways to bring it up himself.

"Favorite jam?" Remus suggested, and Lily shook her head

"Too generic. And there's only _so _many jams out there," she said, and Remus chuckled.

"Size!"

"Size of what Sirius?" Lily asked exasperatedly.

"Wands," Sirius winked, and Lily flushed.

"Oh Merlin," she groaned, hiding her face in James's shoulder as the three boys laughed.

"Just remember, Sirius Black has 11" pure mahogany," he winked, and Lily shoved her pinky's in her ears.

"That is gross," she said, before turning around.

"Where are you going?" James yelled, and Lily waved her hand at him

"I can't look at you tossers right now," she said, and they all laughed as Lily walked back into the Auror Academy room.

"_Petrificus Totalus!"_

"_Protego!" _Lily yelled, holding up her wand.

"You're good," one of the other guys said, putting his wand down, "Nice to meet you, I'm Gideon, Gideon Prewett," he said in a friendly voice, and Lily grinned at him.

"Nice to meet you Gideon, I'm Lily," she said, shaking his hand, and he offered her a friendly smile.

"Hello Lily, oh, and this is my older brother Fabian," he said, and another boy, who was a few years older than them, walked over, and grinned, taking her hand.

"Pleasure to meet the best person in class," he teased, and Lily flushed.

"Very funny," she said, rolling her eyes, and they laughed.

"Lils!" They turned to see James returning, Sirius and Remus on his heels.

"I thought you were going to go eat," she said.

"He wouldn't let me!" Sirius whined, grabbing at his stomach, and Lily giggled.

"Why wouldn't you let him eat?" Lily asked, as James walked over, his eyes on the two boys talking to his girlfriend.

"Constant Vigilance?" he suggested, and Lily laughed.

"James, this is Gideon, and Fabian Prewett, they're brothers," she said, gesturing to the two boys, who shook James's hands in a good natured fashion, "Gideon, Fabian, this is my boyfriend James Potter," she said, and they smiled at him. James grinned back; they had obviously not been hitting on her or they would've looked slightly disappointed.

"Sirius Black," Sirius said, shaking their hands, and they grinned at him.

"Remus Lupin," Remus said, following Sirius in a less grumpy manner, after all, Sirius was hungry.

"Don't worry much about him, he get's like this when he's hungry," Alice said, nodding towards Sirius, who had his arms crossed and was pouting. Sirius stuck his tongue out at her, and she laughed, "Nice to meet you I'm Alice Prewett," she said, and they laughed.

"No way! Same last name," Fabian laughed, and Alice grinned.

"Not for long," Lily winked, and Alice flushed. The two boys looked down at her left hand and grinned.

"I expect an invitation," Gideon said sternly, and Frank laughed.

"Hey there, Frank Longbottom,"

"Nice to meet you," the two boys said in a friendly manner

"We shouldn't be standing around here recklessly, we could get killed," Gideon said, and Remus snorted.

"No worry, we have smarty-pants here," Fabian said, gesturing to Lily, who gasped.

"Excuse me?" she shrieked, as they all laughed. Fabian grinned and held his hands up in surrender.

"Don't stress Red," he said, and Lily huffed. She hated being called red. James put his arm around her shoulder and kissed the side of her head.

"It's okay Lils, you're a great smarty-pants," he assured, and Lily laughed.

"Yeah, you're the most fun nerd I've ever met!" Gideon said, in an attempt to be polite, but it came out all wrong. Lily narrowed her eyes at Gideon, who hid behind Remus, "I think I know who's going to die," he said, and they all laughed. Lily decided that she liked the Prewett brothers; they were great people.

"_Impedimenta!"_

"_Expelliarmus!" _Lily said, as the curse flew towards her. A wand flew and she caught it. She looked up to see her attacker, who was none other than Alastor Moody, of course.

"Two for Two Ms. Evans," he said, nodding appreciatively. Lily grinned and tossed his wand back to him, "I'm going to keep trying," he said, and Lily smiled. She could hear the Marauders, Fabian, Gideon, Frank and Alice snickering behind her back, and aimed a kick backwards.

"OW!" Sirius yelled, and Lily turned to look at him, exasperated, "Bloody hell Evans that _hurt!_"

"Constant Vigilance," she winked, and they all sniggered as Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Definitely the coolest nerd ever," Gideon whispered to James, who grinned at him.

"PRACTICAL! LINE UP!" they all jumped and did as Moody said, lining up in a straight line. Lily ended up in front of James, who kissed her head lightly before standing up straight. Lily grinned and turned back to the front, paying attention, "Now, I am going to curse you," he said, and Lily felt her stomach drop, "I am going to put you under the Imperius curse, and you are going to resist," he said.

"But, sir, that's illegal," Lily said, and Moody huffed, exasperated, as the class snickered.

"Yes, Ms. Evans, I am aware," he said, amused, "But as I am training you, I have permission from the Minister himself," Moody said, and Lily nodded, "Bloody goody two shoes," he muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear, and Lily's jaw dropped open.

Lily watched as Moody put her peers under the Imperius Curse. They all seemed to have a tad bit of resistance, which was spectacular, as Moody had blatantly pointed out multiple times. Lily went up and Moody grinned

"Let's see if you can do everything," he smirked, and Lily had to stifle an eye roll.

* * *

"Leave me alone," Lily muttered. Moody had managed to partially put her under the curse. He had asked her to jump on the desk, and she had rammed her knees into the floor in her attempt to resist. He had been proud, but Lily's knees had not. James, on the other hand, had thrown the curse of completely, as had Sirius and Remus. Lily couldn't help but suspect that they had tried it on each other. After all, they were Marauders. Moody had also decided to randomly throw curses and jinxes at them whilst they took more notes after the practical part, which had been irritating. They hadn't been allowed to use their wands, only dodge.

She was now sitting at her dining table, back at her parents' house. James had come back with her, and his parents had followed.

"Mum, seriously, they're just bruises," Lily said, and Jane hushed her. Lily had been told to change into shorts so her mother could fuss over her knees. Emily was fixing James up, as he had gotten quite a few cuts from the curses he had failed to deflect while they were taking notes. Lily had dodged all except one, which had caused her legs to give away and resulted in her rolling around on the floor dodging and sending curses at Moody, who had hastily begun dueling her, _for fun_. Miraculously, she had drawn with Moody, who was extremely proud of her.

"Moody thinks you're amazing," Daniel said, looking at Lily, who flushed slightly.

"She was," James shrugged, and Lily shook her head.

"James, you threw off the Imperius Curse. All I did was put up a shield charm. You win," she said, and James rolled his eyes; stupid modest girlfriend.

"You were both good," Emily said gently, as she carefully dabbed a cut on James's face, "And you have to be more careful," she scolded, as James winced at the stinging of the potion she was using. There was a _pop _and suddenly there was a woman, dressed in an orange pantsuit, standing in the Evans kitchen.

"Lily you'll never guess-Oh my Merlin what happened to you?" Hestia asked, stopping quickly as she saw the St. Mungos state of the kitchen.

"Long story," Lily muttered, and Hestia looked at the couple worriedly.

"They're fine," Andrew assured her, and Hestia nodded, "you were saying?"

"Oh right!" she said, and turned to look at Lily, "Lily you will _never _believe what happened today?"

"You went to work at _The Prophet _and everything was amazing?" Lily asked bitterly, and Hestia bit her lip, before squealing and nodding, much to everyone's amusement.

"It was so cool! Okay, fine, I'm still 'the new girl'," she sighed, "And I'm stuck with some slag," Hestia's eyes widened and she looked around at the parents, who just chuckled, "Sorry!" she squealed, and they all shook their heads.

"Continue," Emily said, amused, and Hestia grinned.

"Right, so I'm under the supreme control of this absolute _cow _called Rita Skeeter," Hestia shuddered, and Lily grinned. Hestia looked warily at the parents and huffed, "Oh I cant discuss this with parents around. It doesn't feel right to use sour language in front of them," she said, and conjured up a wooden chair, sitting down on it, putting her light leg over her left, and tapping her foot impatiently.

"Hestia, if you're going to sit there do _not _do that," Lily said, eying Hestia's feet. Hestia shrugged and tapped her foot louder. Jane, who had been using wizard remedies for Lily's knees, grinned and sat up.

"Done," she sung, and Lily grinned. She warily prodded her knee with her finger, and didn't feel a thing.

"Mum I love you," Lily said bluntly, and Jane rolled her eyes.

"Honestly sweetheart you have to be more careful," Jane said irritably, and Lily grinned, "James darling are you alright?" Jane said in a visibly more worried tone, and Lily turned to share a look with her father.

"Vodka?" he dad asked, and Lily laughed, as did Hestia. The other four looked at them as if they'd gone mad.

"Finito," Emily declared, getting up, "That's the best we can do, we just have to wait now," she said. James nodded and stood up, stretching, Lily's eyes flying to the tid bit of stomach that was revealed when he did.

"So, when are you moving?" James asked, and Lily's parents looked down sadly.

"I think you should move now," Emily said, and both the Evans looked up at her, irritated, "No that came out wrong!" she squealed, and her husband chuckled, "Shut up Daniel," she said threateningly, and Daniel nodded, ignoring his son's snigger, "I meant, Lily and Hestia move now, and call us all over for dinner," she said cheerfully, and the parents brightened considerably.

"Yes, that is a good idea," Jane said, "That way we're there on your first night there so we'll feel better about you living there."

"I agree," Andrew said quietly, and stood up, grabbing a bottle of vodka out of the cupboard under the kitchen, "For tonight," he explained, and winked at Lily, who giggled.

"James isn't coming," Lily said, and James spluttered.

"Why am I not coming?" he asked, and Lily grinned at him.

"I didn't think you'd want to," she said awkwardly, and James rolled his eyes.

"We'll discuss this later," he said, looking around at the parents, and Lily gulped.

"Okay, not that your lovers quarrel isn't interesting, Lily has to get a move on," Daniel said, smiling cheekily at his son, who rubbed his neck awkwardly, "And James's parents will be coming as well," he said sternly, looking at the two girls, who sighed

"Shall we?" Hestia asked, and Lily nodded, "What's left?"

"My bed!" Lily said happily, and Hestia shook her head fondly

"Honestly, James has competition because of that bed," she muttered, and Lily stuck her tongue out at Hestia.

"That bed is twice the person Potter will ever be," she said, and then winked at James, before skipping out of the kitchen

"Do you want to keep her, or can I kill her?" James asked Andrew, who laughed.

"I'd like to keep her son," he said, and James sighed.

"I never win," he mumbled, and Daniel laughed

"Get used to it," he said wisely, and James sniggered as his father eyed his mother.

"See you later then!" Hestia said, before running out of the kitchen to Lily.

"Should I come with you?" James yelled after her, and Hestia shook her head frantically

"Merlin no, you'll have to get the full effect when you enter like everyone else!" Hestia said, "Tootles!" she said, wiggling her fingers at him, before turning and running up the stairs, "Oh!" she exclaimed, and ran back, "Bring your boyfriend," she said sternly, before running away again.

"NOT GAY!" James yelled after him, and heard Lily laugh. Fabulous.

"Honestly James, people would believe that if you two didn't have lovers quarrels all the time," Emily said, and James's jaw dropped.

"MUM!"

"Love you too pumpkin," she said, kissing his cheek, and James huffed

"I'm going to go," he said, and, attempting to ignore all four parents laughter, turned on the spot, vanishing with a pop. He went through the terrible sensation of apparation, and his feet landed in his room at the Potter Mansion.

Sirius, however, was not there, and James grumbled. He disapparated once again, thinking of Sirius, and suddenly found himself standing in front of Sirius Black himself, in the flat they had just rented.

"Bloody hell," Sirius squeaked, jumping a foot back, and James snickered, "Oh shut up you'd be frightened if I just appeared in front of you," Sirius sneered, and James laughed at Sirius's embarrassment.

"That's okay Pads, I wont tell anybody you squeal like a girl," he winked, and Sirius laughed.

"As if Prongs"

"So, we have dinner plans for tonight," James said, and Sirius frowned.

"Why am I not aware of these plans?"

"Because they were just established," James said, matching Sirius's formal tone, and Sirius's mouth twitched.

"I see. What are these plans you speak of?"

"We are going for dinner to the house of girlfriend," James said, and Sirius barked a laugh.

"That's it, their flat is now called the House of Girlfriend. Genius mate," Sirius chortled, and continued to look around the flat.

"What are you doing here anyway?" James asked, and Sirius shrugged

"Well, we're going to have to move in sometime, I was doing my room," he grinned. James raised his eyebrows and pushed past Sirius to look into his room, and grinned at the sheer majesty of it, "Isn't it amazing?" Sirius grinned, and James laughed and nodded.

"Did you conjure all this up?"

"Nope, I went shopping," said Sirius, and James opened his mouth, "Don't even, Prongs," Sirius said darkly, sensing his friends intention to tease him in regard to his manliness.

"Where did you get the galleons for it?" James asked, grinning, and Sirius shrugged

"Remember how my Uncle Alfred had given me an apartment?" Sirius asked, and James nodded.

"The one you barely went to?"

"Yes," Sirius said, "I rented it out to some lovely old couple, so I get monthly money from them," he shrugged, and James grinned.

"Smart plan mate," he said, and Sirius nodded.

"I know, so when are we doing your room?" Sirius asked, and James sighed.

"Well, we're going for dinner with the girls in forty-ish minutes, so we cant go today. I cant do tomorrow, day after that?" he asked, and Sirius frowned.

"Why can't you go tomorrow?"

"I have a date, with Lily," James said gleefully, and Sirius rolled his eyes.

"You didn't have to say with whom," Sirius said, and James shoved his friend.

"You never know, lots of girls want to get with this," he said, gesturing to himself, and Sirius snorted

"Not as much as me, mate,"

"You wish"

"Isn't it beautiful?" Lily sniffed, looking around her bedroom, which now contained all the things she had wanted to bring from her old room; her clothes, her bookshelf, her stuffed animals, all her stuff, _her bed. _

"Yes yes it's amazing, Lily you wont let me finish!" Hestia whined, and Lily sighed.

"Sorry, I can be so selfish sometimes," Lily muttered, and Hestia nodded.

"I forgive you. Anyway, as I was saying, right, so I'm working under this absolute _slag _Rita Skeeter. She has more hormones than, well, than Sirius and James put together!" Hestia exclaimed, and Lily gasped.

"That's some serious hormonage!" Lily said, and Hestia nodded.

"Exactly! Honestly, that woman is such a sleezeball. She was hitting on everything to get whatever she wanted. I swear, she would bang anything that moved. I was remotely worried to be working in such close proximity with her. I put up a shield charm just in case," Hestia shuddered, and Lily giggled, "I'm not even joking Lils! If there was a bloody mosquito buzzing around the room, I'm fairly certain she'd bang it. The absolute _cow_!" Lily was openly laughing by this point and Hestia was also chuckling, "And you wouldn't believe what she looks like! It's ridiculous. So, she's blonde, of course she would be," Hestia added irritably, and Lily smirked, "And she wears these bloody heels that even _I _would wear! And that's saying something! And she wears these bloody tight clothes which show off her almost forty year old figure, although she wouldn't tell you she was a day over 21," Hestia snorted.

Lily continued to bustle around the flat, preparing for the dinner that night, and preparing the food, while Hestia continued to splutter and spasm about Rita Skeeter. Lily had decided to make ravioli, stuffed with spinach, in red sauce. It was good, and it wasn't so hard to make. For dessert, which Hestia was making, and there were fresh cut strawberries with whipped cream. Honestly, Lily was practically drooling whilst cooking. No, that wasn't true, that would be disgusting. But you get the general idea.

After Hestia had finished with her story, and Lily had discussed her first day at Auror Academy, which had amused Hestia to no end, and they had set the mahogany dining table, the two girls went to get dressed. Hestia threw on a pretty orange sundress, and glared at Lily until she reluctantly obliged, and threw one on as well. Lily had picked a pale yellow sundress, and had put her hair up in a twirl on top of her head, revealing her neck, with a few strands hanging loose. Hestia had decided to leave her hair open, and had straightened it, so that it hung long on her shoulders.

"I like it like this," Hestia said, waving her hair around, and Lily rolled her eyes. Hestia liked anything that involved dressing up. Lily wasn't surprised. The Beatles song started to sound through the apartment, and Lily sprinted to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi Lilykins"

"Hey daddy, what's up?"

"What's your address?"

"Why cant you just apparated with the Potters?" Lily teased, and Andrew snorted

"I offered, believe me I did, but Daniel seems extremely fascinated by the car, and has been whining so we all obliged," Andrew said. In the background, Lily heard Daniels whines of protest, and giggled as she heard Emily snap at him, as usual.

"Er, I'll text it to you,"

"Alright, I'm waiting!" there was a beep noise as Andrew hung up and Lily chuckled.

"What?" Hestia asked, and Lily grinned.

"Daniel wants to drive here," Lily laughed, as she typed the address out for her father. Their flat was in a muggle area, so it wouldn't be impossible for her father to find. Lily pressed send and then looked at the clock, "Well, James and Sirius, and probably your family, will be here in 20 minutes," she said, and Hestia nodded.

"Go wear your shoes," Hestia said, and Lily gasped.

"We're inside the house!"

"Yes, but we are having guests over for dinner"

"It's my flat!"

"It's mine as well!" Hestia rolled her eyes and waved her wands, and Lily's pale yellow ballet flats flew onto her shoes, "I hate you," Lily muttered, and Hestia grinned.

"I know," she said merrily, and led Lily to her bedroom.

"Eurgh, I can't sit in here!" Lily squealed, and ran out to sit down in front of the television, which they had bought and put it in the spare bedroom, which they had decorated together. It had peach walls, combining Hestia's lust for pink and Lily's lust for anything not pink, with crimson curtains (how could they not, they were Gryffindors after all!) and a sofa, which could be pulled out into a bed. The television was opposite the sofa, and the two girls flopped onto it. Lily switched the television on, and the two girls settled on watching one of Lily's favorite programs, The A-Team, while Hestia continuously babbled on how she thought 'that one guy' was extremely cute, when the doorbell rung.

The two girls jumped up quickly, switching the television off, and grinning excitedly. They practically sprinted to the front door and calmed themselves down, before calmly and collectedly, answering the door.

"HI!" Daniel yelled excitedly, hugging Lily. Lily laughed and hugged him back, closing the door as the rest of the parents walked in, looking around in wonder.

"Oh it's beautiful!" Jane squealed, and hugged her daughter, "Can I have a tour?" she asked happily, and Lily laughed.

"Hi daddy!" Lily said happily, and walked over to her father, giving him a hug, "How was the drive? Were they as fascinated as James, Hest, Sirius, and Remus were?" she asked, and Andrew laughed and nodded.

"I thought Daniel was going to snap the seat belt," he said dramatically, and Daniel cried in indignation

"It was cool!" he yelled, and Hestia grinned.

"I agree with you," she assured him, and Daniel threw his wife a smug look, which she blatantly ignored.

"He started asking detailed questions about how engines worked," Andrew whined, and Lily laughed, "I had to actually think!"

"That sounds terrible," Lily said and Andrew nodded.

"Hello dear," Emily said, putting her arm around Lily's shoulders, "I demand a tour."

"Sure!" Lily said, eager to show everyone around her new home, "So, this is the living room," she said, gesturing to the sofa area, "The kitchen is through here, the dining table is through there," she said, pointing to a door off to the side, "The bedrooms are this way," she said, and gestured down the hallway, unsure if the parents wanted to see.

"Well let's go!" Jane almost yelled, and Lily jumped. Hestia laughed at her friend and threw her arm around Lily's shoulder.

"So," Hestia said, as they walked towards the bedrooms, "This one is the spare room," she said, and the parents looked inside to examine it, "This is Lily's room," she said, pointing to the other door. The parents walked inside it and Andrew grinned

"I believe you designed this room when you were seven," he grinned winking at Lily, who flushed happily.

"And I finally made it," she said happily, and Jane rolled her eyes.

"I believe the walls were made of skittles originally," Jane pointed out, and Lily sighed dramatically

"If only," she said, and Andrew laughed as Jane tried not to giggle.

"AND THIS!" Hestia announced grandly, "is my room." She threw open the door and the parents walked in, and Lily saw the two men blink rapidly

"It's so pink!" Emily exclaimed, both irritated and enamored by it.

"I KNOW RIGHT!" Hestia said happily, and the parents laughed.

"I have a headache," Lily mumbled, and walked out of the room and they all laughed.

"Lily's allergic to pink," Andrew whispered to Emily, who giggled.

"Especially obnoxiously bright pink," Lily pointed out, and Hestia gasped.

"There is nothing wrong with fuchsia!"

"Please Hest! Even the _word _fuchsia is pathetic!"

"IT IS NOT PAT-"

"Girls," Jane said, looking at her daughter and goddaughter with an attempt at a stern expression. They grinned at her sheepishly before clearing their throats.

"So," Lily said, slightly squeaky, "let's go to the living room then?" The adults nodded and made their way back to the living room, and took seats, looking around admiringly

"I really like this place," Emily said, looking around happily, and Lily flushed of pride, as did Hestia.

"It's so friendly," Daniel grinned, and then looked around at everyone else who was giving him a 'what the hell' expression, "You know what I meant!" he exclaimed. Andrew shook his head and then laughed as Daniel narrowed his eyes at him. Honestly, the two were like James and Sirius. Just as Lily had thought of the two, there was a pop behind them, and the devils themselves appeared.

"HOLA!" Sirius said happily, pulling Lily into a hug, and Lily laughed.

"Hola, Sirius?"

"Yes, Hola," he shrugged, and walked around her to his girlfriend, "BONJOUR!"

"Bonjour," Hestia giggled, wrapping her arms around her boyfriends' neck. Sirius squeezed her around the waist and kissed her cheek, before letting go and smiling at the parents.

"Which language will it be next?" Daniel asked mysteriously, and Sirius grinned, before frowning slightly…

"NAMASTE!" he yelled, and they all laughed. Sirius walked forwards happily to hug the four parents, and James followed after him, laughing slightly. James then walked over and greeted Hestia, completely ignoring Lily, who was slightly hurt

_Have you done something wrong? _A voice in Lily's head asked.

_I haven't done anything wrong!_

_You sure?_

_Absolutely._

_So that means he's just ignoring you._

_That berk! How dare he ignore me! He doesn't have the right to ignore me! That's it. I'm not speaking to him._

_Sure you aren't._

_I'm not._

_But you will_

_I will not! Bloody James Potter. No way am I talking to him tonight. Watch, I am not going to forgive him. He hurt my feelings_

_You'll cave._

_As if._

_You'll talk to him._

_No I wont._

_Prove it._

_Watch me!_

_Why are you so sensitive?_

_I don't know, maybe I'm getting my period. _

Lily snapped out of it as they all migrated towards the couches. Lily sat down next to Emily, still seething at James in her mind, when suddenly she felt a hand grab her, and was taken by surprise as she was pulled through a wormhole. Her feet hit the ground and she looked around, to see herself in her room, right down the hall from where the parents were. She looked towards the culprit to see that it was James.

"What was that for?" she shrieked, listening to the laughing ensuing from the living room, probably because James had done that. They probably didn't know that the couple was in Lily's room. For all they knew, Lily and James could have apparated to America to elope.

"Well, I needed to get you alone," he shrugged, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him, trying not to notice how incredibly handsome he looked in his dark jeans and a thin blue shirt through which Lily swore she could see his impressive six-pack. Ah, the wonders of thin cotton.

"No I'm not speaking to you," she said angrily, turning around, and James's eyebrows rose, astonished.

"What did I do?" he asked slightly worriedly.

"You didn't acknowledge me! How dare you! Who do you bloody think you are?" she said, and James laughed, "It's not funny!" she grumbled, and James continued to laugh, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her towards him. Lily rested her hands on his chest and looked up at him, her eyes narrowed.

"Forgive me?" he asked sweetly, and Lily shook her head stubbornly. If she forgave him, the irritating voice in her head would laugh at her. James huffed, "You're so incredibly stubborn," he whined, and Lily's face twitched into a smile, but she controlled it, setting it back in an irritated expression, "Please forgive me?" he asked, looking into her eyes, and Lily shook her head once more, "Am I going to have to convince you?" James growled lowly

"Probably," Lily said stiffly, and he grinned. James chuckled lowly and somehow pulled Lily closer to him. Lily felt her breath hitch in her throat as James leaned down, resting his forehead on hers.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked, and Lily shook her head. James pushed her back so that the backs of her thighs were pressed against the edge of her bed, and Lily gulped, causing James to smirk slightly, "Now?" Lily shook her head again, and James's fingers started to trace patterns on her lower back. Lily had to fight to keep her eyelids from drooping closed so she could savor in the feeling. She couldn't let him win _that _easily. James, realizing Lily's game, smirked slightly.

_So that's how it's going to be. Well, two can play at that game,_ James thought slyly, as he looked into Lily's determined green eyes.

He leaned down and gently kissed her forehead. He looked at Lily, who still hadn't budged, not that he'd expected her to. He'd have been extremely disappointed had she budged then; she would've taken away all of his fun. James bent down, and kissed the curve of Lily's jaw so softly she wasn't even sure if he'd made contact with her skin. Lily trembled slightly and silently cursed her body for being so traitorous. Maybe the voice in her head was controlling her body now. Evil voice.

"Now?" James asked quietly, and Lily shook her head. James's mouth traveled up to Lily's ear, and he lightly grazed it with his teeth. He felt Lily tremble violently and grinned into her hair, "Lils?"

"N-no," she managed to stammer out, still sounding stubborn, and he chuckled lightly. He would win. It was inevitable. He traveled down and kissed right underneath her jaw, and made his way slowly down her neck, dropping soft, feather light kisses, heading towards her shoulder. Lily, whose face James couldn't see, bit her lip to stop herself from making any noise. She couldn't let him know he'd won.

_Plus, if he wins, he'll stop, _the evil voice piped up, and Lily scowled at the air as if the voice was a person standing in front of her. So what if that was true?

An involuntary squeak escaped her as James nipped the skin at the crook of her neck, and she felt his lips curl up into a smile. He got up to his full height to look Lily in the eye, and moved his hands slowly up her back. Extremely slowly. So slowly, Lily felt it shouldn't be legal. She felt her knees wobble slightly, from all the self control she was using up, and curled her toes, fighting to stay upright. She could not lose.

"Lily just give up," James grinned, and Lily shook her head weakly, "Okay, shall we call it a draw?" he suggested, and Lily beamed. James chuckled and kissed her on the cheek, "Do you forgive me?"

"Fine," Lily huffed, and James laughed at her irritated expression.

"You know, I don't mind this hairstyle so much," James grinned, wrapping on of his hands around her neck. Lily flushed and James smirked, "And the dress isn't so bad either," he said, eying the thin sundress. Lily flushed deeper and James laughed, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"So, why was I so rudely apparated here?" she asked, and James rolled his eyes

"I would've thought it was obvious, I wanted to talk to you without all those people there," he said, and Lily grinned.

"So go ahead," she said, and James frowned.

"What?"

"You wanted to talk to me?"

"Right!"

"And?" she said. James put his other hand around her neck as well and pulled her towards him, when the door flew open violently. They sprung apart and Sirius and Hestia looked at them, amused.

"All that secret apparating and you came here?" Sirius asked, and James shrugged.

"You wouldn't have ever guessed," he pointed out, and Sirius grinned.

"Honestly Lily, you can't control yourself around your boyfriend?" Hestia hissed, and Lily's jaw dropped.

"Yeah Lily-flower," Sirius said, crossing his arms mockingly, "Constant Vigilance!" Lily laughed, as did James and Sirius, and Hestia stood there, irritated.

"This isn't funny! Be children later! Lily Clare, we're hostesses right now!" Hestia squealed, and then gave her a stern look, before turning around and walking down the hallway.

"Can you take her away?" Lily asked Sirius, who barked a laugh. Lily turned to look in the mirror, and after noting her hair and makeup was intact, she took a deep breath before walking out of the room, followed by the two amused boys.

"Ah, where did you go?" Daniel asked, amused. Emily turned around as Lily returned and squealed, jumping up and hugging her, "Er, Em?" Daniel asked, for everybody in the room.

"Nothing, I just noticed how pretty she looks," Emily said, and Lily flushed as she felt all sets of eyes turn to look at her. Just then, the doorbell rung and Lily jumped.

"Hest!" she yelled, and Hestia walked out from the hallway. She had probably been in her room redoing makeup, "Your family's here," Lily said, and Hestia's eyes widened

"Go open the door!" she hissed

"Why should I do it? They're your family!"

"Just go do it!"

"Why? You do it!"

"I don't want to!"

"Why not?"

"Because they're my family!"

"My point exactly!"

"Lily!"

"Hestia!"

"Bloody hell, women," Sirius said, and walked over to the door, but Hestia grabbed him.

"Lily is answering the door," she said sternly, and Lily raised her eyebrows at her best friend. The doorbell sounded again and Lily huffed.

"I hate you," she said irritably, and walked to the door.

"THANK YOU!" Hestia yelled after her. Lily turned around to give her friend a look, before opening the door, a smile on her face.

"LILY!" Mr. Jones exclaimed happily, picking Lily up and swinging her around. Lily squealed and laughed.

"Hi!" she said happily, hugging Mr. Jones, who beamed down her.

"Hi Lily!" Helen Jones said happily, hugging Lily. Lily hugged her back and then the four of them made their way to the living room, the Jones's looking around in awe.

"SIRIUS!" Mr. Jones boomed, and walked over to shake Sirius's hand. Sirius, bemused but delighted, shook his hand as well.

"Oh Merlin Sirius hi!" Helen squealed, running over and pulling Sirius into a hug.

"Told you," Hestia hissed to Lily, who laughed, and winked at her father.

"Maybe it's a Marauder thing," Lily answered, and Hestia nodded.

"All except Pete," Hestia added, and Lily laughed, nodding.

"Hestia! Why is it you're always wearing something revealing?" her mother huffed, but hugged her daughter happily

"Mum! This is hardly revealing!" Hestia squealed, gesturing to the sundress.

"She's right, that's actually incredibly modest," Jane teased, and Hestia turned to glare at Lily as if it was her fault her mother was irritating.

"I didn't say anything!" Lily said defensively, holding her hands up in surrender, and they all laughed.

They spent the evening sitting around and talking, and Lily was extremely fidgety due to the fact that James was full out staring at her the entire time. Not to mention the fact that little Tyler's eyes kept flicking to her as well. Hormonal boys surrounded her. It was frightening. She was half expecting Sirius to start staring at her as well because he was feeling left out, or something. Once it was time to serve dinner, Lily practically jumped up and ran to the kitchen. Hestia followed Lily into the kitchen and burst into laughter

"What?" Lily asked, bewildered. The three mothers walked into the kitchen to see a bewildered Lily, looking at Hestia, who was on the road to wetting herself out of laughter

"You…looking…blushing…so funny!" Hestia choked. After having been Hestia's best friend for seven years, Lily completely understood what her friend was saying and placed her hands on her hips

"Hestia! It's not funny! That was terrible!" Lily shrieked, and Hestia laughed even harder. She wasn't taking in enough oxygen; her laughing was coming out silent and she was clutching her stomach for air, "Bloody hell Hestia it wasn't _that _funny!" Lily exclaimed, as she pulled her wand out to take the dishes to the table.

"What wasn't funny?" Emily asked curiously. The two girls mothers were watching their grown up daughters with sad expressions.

"Lily…out there…boys…staring…funny," Hestia choked, and Lily sighed. She waved her wand and Hestia took a deep breath, coming up for air, "thank you," Hestia grinned, and Lily rolled her eyes, "Tyler and James wouldn't stop looking at Lily out there, and she kept blushing uncomfortably, it was hilarious," Hestia declared, and then turned to Lily, "I'll get the dessert!" she said happily, and Lily grabbed her friends' arm, pushing her towards the dining room.

"Dessert is after dinner!"

"Sorry mum," Hestia mumbled, and then grinned at her mother, who shook her head fondly.

"That girl is giving me grey hairs," Helen muttered

"Tell me about it," Jane said, touching her hair delicately

"Daniel get's the grey hairs in our family," Emily grinned, and the two mothers threw her friendly scowls.

"Lily, that looks great," John Jones said, smiling at Lily, who grinned back, but jumped as Hestia let out a shriek of indignation

"Hey!" Hestia yelled at her father, who shrugged and grinned.

"Sweetheart I know _you _didn't make it," he chuckled, and Hestia turned to pout at Lily, who shrugged

"I did make it," Lily pointed out, and Hestia scowled at her, much to everyone's amusement, "Hestia made the dessert," Lily added, and Hestia brightened.

"Shall we?" Hestia said, gesturing to the food, and they all nodded. James sat down across from Lily and grinned at her, causing Lily's stomach to flip. _Not seeing James every day is bad for me, very bad._

Dinner passed by quickly, with James and Sirius shooting ravioli across the table at each other, and catching it in their mouths, which only ended once one of the pieces of ravioli splat onto Emily's plate, she turned to glare at the two boys, who suddenly adopted sorrowful expressions. Lily grinned and tapped James's shin, and James stuck his tongue out at her, causing her to giggle.

The conversation jumped from the parents works, to the children's works, to Tyler's new start at Hogwarts, to the apartment, to the Marauders' apartment, and continued on in a direction that Lily couldn't be bothered to keep up with. To be honest, she was too busy trying to figure out how she was going to be able to survive Auror Academy tomorrow. If today had been so bad, wouldn't tomorrow be harder?

Lily was snapped out of her wanderings as Sirius, who was sitting next to her, started picking the last few pieces of ravioli off her plate.

"SIRIUS!" she hissed, as the last piece of her ravioli went missing.

"Yes love?" he asked in a charming voice, and Lily rolled her eyes and turned away, "IM DONE!" he announced, interrupting all conversations, and Lily turned to look at him.

"Well what am I supposed to do about it?" she asked, exasperated, and James grinned.

"Go get my dessert!" he cried, and Lily turned to look at Hestia, who was narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend for having interrupted her conversation on, Merlin forbid, fashion.

"You have to wait until everybody is done," Lily said, and Sirius looked around. All the plates were clean.

"Lily-flower everybody else is done!" he said happily. They all laughed and Lily sighed, standing up.

"Fine," she said, waving her wand. All the plates flew to the kitchen and Lily followed them to get the dessert. She could hear Sirius cheering and banging on the table and giggled. Honestly, Sirius Black was crazy, but she had to admit, life would be pretty dull without that twat. She sent all the desserts to the dining room and followed after them, wincing slightly as her knees twinged. Her sundress reached mid-calf length, so nobody could see her injured knees, but she had a feeling they were not going to look pretty.

"THANK YOU LILY-FLOWER!" Sirius said happily, serving himself a generous scoop of dessert. Lily laughed and sat down. Lily finished her dessert quickly, and whilst everyone was taking seconds, she excused herself. She stumbled to her room and collapsed onto the side of her bed. She shut the door with her wand and then pulled the sundress up to examine her knees, and groaned. They were deep purple. Honestly, Moody was going to die. His Constant Vigilance wouldn't help him when Lily finally got to him.

The door opened and Lily jumped, pushing her sundress down. She had pulled it up indecently high to examine her knees so it wouldn't get in the way. James walked in and shut the door behind him, and turned to look at her.

"You excused yourself to sit on your bed?" he smirked, "I didn't know you loved it _that _much," he teased, and Lily stuck her tongue out at him. James walked over to her and kneeled down in front of her, resting his hands on her knees, causing Lily to whimper, "What happened?" he asked worriedly, and Lily shook her head. James narrowed his eyes at her and then looked down at his hands.

Carefully, ignoring Lily's blush and protests, he pushed the sundress up to the middle of her thighs and groaned in his throat as he saw the large purple bruises.

"I didn't realize you fell _that_ hard," he said worriedly, looking up into her face. Lily was looking at him with wide eyes, "What?" he asked, and Lily shook her head. Maybe James really _did _love her as much as he said he did. Lily grinned at the thought. James didn't see her grin, because he was busy examining her knees.

He gently, so Lily could barely feel it, brushed his hands across her knees and then smiled slightly, "What?" Lily asked, and James shook his head.

"This happened to my hip during Quidditch once," he said, and then pulled his wand out, and hesitated, "Do you trust me?" he asked and Lily nodded, causing his stomach to swoop. It was stupid, but the nod had practically made his day. He waved his wand and muttered a complex spell, and Lily felt instant relief in her knees. She sighed and looked down to see that the bruises had vanished.

"Thank you," she said quietly, and James grinned at her.

"No need to thank me love," he said, and Lily grinned. She stretched her legs out, one on either side of him, and smiled, as she felt no pain. James was looking up at her face and jumped of shock as her legs wrapped around him. James chuckled and leaned up, "You know, I didn't get to do this all day," he said, closing in on her, and Lily giggled. James's lips were a centimeter from hers

The door flew open and they turned to see little Tyler looking at them with wide, upset eyes.

"Tyler!" Lily said, jumping up, and Tyler looked at her sadly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he sighed, and walked out of the room, shutting it behind him. James chuckled and wrapped his arms around Lily, resting his forehead on hers. Lily grinned and put her arms around his neck. James backed them up and Lily fell over, landing on the bed on her back with James on top of her. She felt James's stomach move as he laughed and put her hands in his hair, pulling him towards her when,

"LILY?" both the teens groaned and then stood up, brushing themselves off.

"Why does this keep happening?" James pouted, and Lily laughed.

"After they leave," she said, and James grinned in anticipation. They left the room and walked over to the parents together. They were all standing up in the living room, which was code for 'it's getting late we should go'.

"Leaving?" James asked, and the parents all nodded. Tyler, who still looked as if his world had fallen apart, looked anywhere but at Lily. James snickered as he looked at Tyler and Lily pinched his arm subtly, "Ow," James mouthed to her, rubbing his elbow, and Lily grinned

"Yes, it's late, we should get going. Plus, we have to drive," said Jane, smiling at Daniel, whose eyes widened at the prospect of getting in the car. Emily, who rolled her eyes, was also secretly excited. They said their goodbyes, and Tyler hugged Lily for a little too long, who really bothered James, and then they all left.

"I thought he was going to jump on you," James muttered, when the parents and Tyler had finally left. Lily laughed and turned around so she was looking up into James's face

"Jealous?" she teased, and James grinned. He leaned down towards her, when, once again, they were rudely interrupted

"OI! Do that later, I want a tour!" Sirius said, stepping in between James and Lily and putting his arm around Lily's shoulders. Lily rolled her eyes and then walked over, joining elbows with Hestia, who was in a much better mood now that her parents were gone. They made her extremely stressed. The girls walked around, lazily telling the boys which room was which, that is, until they reached Hestia's room. Hestia pushed the door open and both boys yelled.

"BLOODY HELL!"

"WHY IS IT SO PINK?"

"MY EYES!"

"WHAT ROOM IS THIS?" Sirius barked, squinting around, and Lily snickered.

"This, Sirius, is your girlfriend's bedroom," Lily said, and Sirius's jaw dropped to the floor.

"I cant…do anything in here!" he whined, and Hestia grinned at him.

"Well, that's too bad," she said earnestly, before sauntering into he room, "night!" she yelled over her shoulder. Lily bit her lip as Sirius looked after her, before panting after her like a dog. Sirius closed the door behind him, and then Lily burst into a fit of giggles

"Did you see him?" she asked, and James, who was laughing, nodded. He took Lily's arm and pulled her into her room, and shut the door

"Finally, I think the universe is trying to keep us apart," he grumbled, as he lay down on his back on Lily's bed, throwing his arm over his eyes. Lily giggled and walked over to her closet, "Where are you going?" James asked.

"Change," she shrugged, and she saw James's eyes go over her sundress

"Change later," he said, and Lily laughed. She walked over to James, who grinned up at her, resting on his elbows, "I'm waiting," he said cheekily, and Lily gasped, raising her eyebrows at him.

"For that, I'm going to go change," she huffed, and turned around. She hadn't even taken her first step when she fell backwards, thanks to James pulling on the hem of her dress. Lily fell with a squeak onto James, "No I'm still going to change," she said, and squirmed, but he held her down, "James Potter," she growled, and he grinned at her. He reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.

"I miss you," he said quietly, and Lily's eyebrows rose.

"James, I'm right here," she said, confused, and James laughed.

"No, I meant, well, I used to see you all the time, and now I miss you. I don't see you anymore, and when I do we're always busy, what, with Auror Academy, and flat stuff, and family dinners," James continued to babble, which he did when he was uncomfortable.

"I miss you too," Lily said, and felt a pang as she realized just how true his words were, "We'll make more time," she said determinedly, and James looked into her determined green eyes

"Are you sure?" he asked worriedly. Lily smiled down at him and then rolled off him, sitting up. James sat up and looked at her. Lily pulled her hair out of its elegant bun. It fell down and Lily ran her hands through it, getting rid of the ridiculous headache that came with having your hair tied up for too long. She pulled all her hair over one shoulder and started to play with the ends, unable to look at him when he was watching her so intently.

"James, I don't want to lose you," she said, examining the ends of her hair intently, "I'm going to make time because I honestly do miss you too, but, I mean, if you don't want to, I get it," she said awkwardly, pretending to search through her hair for split ends. Honestly, split ends were murder. Suddenly, James grabbed her face and pulled her towards him.

"Lily," he said slightly breathlessly, resting his forehead on hers, "you honestly think I don't want to make time?" Lily grinned sheepishly and he laughed, leaning in to kiss her again.

**

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Sorry that took a while! I've been sleeping at 12 everyday so I'm really sorry! I've been squeezing writing this in along with all my homework, so I'm sorry if the updates aren't THAT fast, but they will happen. I promise, maximum 4 days between each chapter. MAXIMUM. **

**Happy fanficcing (: **


	4. BallPools and JungleGyms

**Hey guys! Okay, thank you all for being so dedicated to the story! I post it, and like twenty minutes later I already have reviews. Thank you guys. Also, there's been a giant surge of reviews, which I love by the way, so I'm sorry I haven't been replying to them! **

**Enjoy!**

**

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Disclaimer: I own the storyline! Yay for me. But yeah, nothing else.**

_**

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Previously:**_

_First day at Auror Academy. Lily and Hestia move into their flat. James and Lily have a talk about making more time for each other_

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Lily woke up the next morning feeling wet. That's right. Wet. She sat up and looked around, disoriented. It took her a few minutes to realize she had moved into her flat and felt satisfied deep down that she had spent her first night at her new flat. However, she couldn't think about that because she was feeling wet. She stood up and stumbled her way to the bathroom. She sat down on the toilet and groaned as she looked down into her underwear to see blood.

"Bloody perfect," she muttered, waving her wand and scourgifying the blood-ridden underwear and pulling a new one out. Why did this have to happen the day she had a date with James? She stretched over to one of the drawers under the sink, not getting off the toilet, and pulled out her box of tampons. Ripping it open, she pulled one out.

Lily hated tampons. They felt weird. They hurt sometimes, but, admittedly, they were easier than wearing pads and getting frequent rashes from them. If only the magical world had done something about women's periods. Couldn't they have invented a potion or something to make them feel more pleasant? Maybe a spell to vanish all the blood whilst it seeped out? But no, the magical world had to invent stuff like potions made to make people fall in love. Bloody brilliant.

She stood up, feeling uncomfortable in her body, as she usually did when she had her time of the month, and walked back into her room. She looked at her clock to see that it was five in the morning, and groaned, stomping her foot. Today was not going to be a good day. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a plain, simple t-shirt. Not bothering to get into the shower, she cleaned herself off, and tied her hair up in a messy knot at the back of her head. She looked in the mirror and shrugged. It wasn't going to get any better with the mood she was in. She put on the pair of boots her parents had got her for Christmas, which looked somewhat professional, okay they didn't but nobody cared, and walked out, and almost jumped as she saw Hestia bustling around the kitchen.

"Why are you awake?" Lily asked, and Hestia jumped

"More importantly, why are _you _awake?" she asked incredulously.

"Period," Lily grumbled, and Hestia looked at her friend sympathetically, and also slightly warily. Lily got extremely cranky when she had her period, so Hestia didn't even bother trying to change the ridiculously dull outfit Lily had on. Hestia pitied James in a way; he was so clueless about these things. Then again, all boys were. He would probably try to kiss her cheek and she'd slap him. Hestia smirked, wishing she could watch.

"Sorry, coffee?" she offered, and Lily nodded. She sat up on the counter as Hestia bustled about the kitchen.

"Why are you awake?" Lily asked again, curiously, and Hestia rolled her eyes.

"Ms. I'm-a-horny-slag Skeeter wants me to report to work at 6am today because she has a piece to cover and I'm going with her since I'm new," Hestia sneered, and Lily giggled.

"Might want to put up a shield charm," Lily said, and Hestia laughed loudly, "Shh!" Lily hissed, and Hestia sighed. Stupid PMS gave her best friend mood swings.

Hestia left a little while later, waving cheerily to Lily, before disapparating on the spot. Lily stretched and walked back towards her room. She didn't have to be at Auror Academy until 7:30, so she had nothing to do. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, she made her way back to her room after grabbing a Pop Tart. Lily spent a long time reading over her notes from Auror Academy the previous day, incase Moody decided to randomly ask them questions about what they had learned.

Once she was done, she decided to pay her parents a visit, to show them she hadn't died or anything. She packed a little bag, with her cell phone, money, notebook, pen, wand and a box of tampons, and disapparated. She landed on her feet in her parents' kitchen and groaned, leaning over, clutching her stomach. Cramps were not good, and apparating with cramps was even worse.

"Lilykins?" she looked up to see her father sitting at the dining table, watching her worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Cramps," she whimpered, and he looked at her sympathetically. Andrew Evans had never been one to get squeamish around 'feminine problems'. He had two daughters, how could he be?

"Sorry baby. Your mum has medicines in the cabinet," he offered, and Lily grinned at him. She turned and walked up the stairs.

"Mum?"

"Yes dear?" she heard her mother yell from the bathroom.

"Can I take your period pills?"

"Yep, I have 3 boxes. Take one,"

"Thanks mum!"

"No problem!"

Lily pulled out the pills and popped two in, before shoving the box in her purse. She would need those. She walked down the stairs to see her father gathering his stuff, "Leaving already?" she asked, and Andrew frowned at her.

"Er, yes, it's 7," he said, and Lily's eyes widened, causing her father to chuckle, "Have fun at work," he said, before grabbing his car keys and walking out. Lily yelled a quick goodbye to her mother, who yelled back, before bracing herself and disapparating. They were all meeting at the Ministry today, so she went straight there. She was half an hour early, but that didn't matter to her. She gave the wizard her wand to examine, before walking slowly through the lobby, looking around.

When she made it to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement floor, she walked out towards the Auror Headquarters. She was lost in her own bubble, thinking of what she was going to wear that night now that she had cramps, since she couldn't wear the white dress she had been planning on wearing, and accidentally bumped into a figure.

"I'm so sorry!" she said, snapping out of her reverie, and then gasped as she saw whom she'd bumped into, "Professor Dumbledore!" she exclaimed, and Dumbledore chuckled, straightening his half moon spectacles.

"Nice to see you too Ms. Evans," he said, his eyes twinkling, "I want to congratulate you. Alastor is extremely satisfied with your performance in Auror Academy so far," he said, and Lily flushed of pleasure

"Thank you sir," she said politely, and he waved his hand.

"We're both adults now. Call me Albus," he said, and Lily had to bite back a laugh. How could she possibly call Dumbledore, white beard and everything, Albus? It sounded wrong. She couldn't even think it, "Well you should get going," he said, tapping his watch, and Lily nodded.

"See you soon Professor," she said. She made to walk around when Dumbledore suddenly cleared his throat

"Actually, Ms. Evans I have a matter to discuss with you," he said, and Lily frowned slightly and nodded, "I assume you know of the Order of the Phoenix?" he asked, and Lily nodded, "Would you be willing to join?" he asked, and Lily's eyes widened

"Of course sir!" she said quickly, and Dumbledore chuckled

"There is a meeting at this address," he said, handing her a piece of parchment, "tomorrow night at 7pm," he said, and Lily nodded, "You may pass the message along to Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, Ms. Jones, Ms. Prewett, Mr. Longbottom and the Prewett brothers," he said, and Lily looked up at him. Did Dumbledore seriously know everything? How did he know about Gideon and Fabian? Weird.

"Thank you sir," she said, and Dumbledore smiled at her.

"See you soon Ms. Evans." Dumbledore walked down the hallway and Lily pushed the door to the Auror Headquarters open. She walked towards the doors at the back, suddenly extremely irritated. She saw Emily and Daniel deep in conversation with some bloke named Kingsley Shacklebolt, a transfer Auror from a different Ministry, whom she had run into the day before, and walked through the doors to Auror Academy.

"Lily-flower!" Sirius said happily. Lily just looked at him, before sitting down in her seat irritably, "What did I do?" he asked, and the other two boys shrugged. Alice, who had noticed, raised her eyebrows at Lily, who nodded, and Alice grimaced. Like Hestia, she hated Lily when she had her time of the month, "LILY-FLOWER I DEMAND A HUG!" Sirius yelled, causing everyone in the room to jump. Gideon and Fabian, who were hanging out with the Marauders and Frank, jumped. They, after all, didn't know Sirius Black as well as the Gryffindors did. Lily huffed and got up, hugging Sirius, who grinned happily and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Don't I get one?" Remus teased, and Lily laughed. She hugged him moodily. James held his arms out, and Lily was going to go hug him, when Moody suddenly appeared. Lily drew her wand, just in case, and Moody grinned at her.

"Relax red, its notes today," he said, and Lily dropped down into her seat. How dare he irritate her today! If he teased her at all today she would blow him to bits. She really would. They sat down and pulled out their notebooks, and began taking notes. Moody had no mercy. He barely gave them time to write. He just kept changing what was on the board, as well as talking. Lily was thinking of getting a quill that took notes for her. She wouldn't be so stressed in class that way.

Gideon, who was a lot like Sirius when it came to notes, huffed and asked Moody to slow down a little, which was a big mistake.

"Sonny boy, this is the real world. You're not sitting in a little school somewhere. In the real world nobody is going to _slow down _for you," he sneered, and Gideon flushed slightly, "You think that a dark wizard trying to attack you is going to slow down for you because you've stumbled? No he is not!"

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

Lily sighed and held her head. Her cramps were making her so fidgety, and Moody's yelling was not helping. Neither were his incessant notes. Now, her abdomen _and _her hand _and _her brain were hurting.

Large books appeared on their desks and Moody instructed them to read the 219th chapter. Lily opened the book to the right page, and groaned internally. The chapter was almost a hundred pages long! It would take the whole day! She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and began to read, taking notes simultaneously. Moody started firing spells at them at random while they read to 'keep them aware', which he'd told the blonde girl in the first row after she'd whined about how he kept hitting her. Lily didn't like her. She whined too much and to top it off, she obviously had a thing for James. Lily felt her cramps reach their peak, and winced, before raising her hand.

"Can I go to the loo?" she asked in a strained voice. She saw James looked at her worriedly, but ignored him. Moody, who had been clumping around the room, clumping because of his wooden leg, and peeking over people's shoulders to see what they were doing, turned to look at her, amused.

"Ms. Evans you aren't at Hogwarts anymore. Just go," he chuckled, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him. It was only polite to ask. He was the teacher anyway.

"Well I'm sorry I thought it was customary to be polite in class," she retorted, and the class froze to look at her, the boys with their eyebrows raised. Lily Evans, sassing a teacher? Moody, however, started to laugh.

"Go to the loo Ms. Evans," he said, and Lily stood up, walking out of the room as calmly and collectedly as she could, given the fact that her uterus hurt so much she was struggling to stand up straight. She had always had the worst cramps. It made her jealous of people like Petunia, who didn't feel pain during their time of the month. She felt James's eyes on her as she walked out.

She exited the door to Auror Academy, and looked around, dumbstruck. Where was the loo? She groaned and looked around, but didn't see a sign or anything. She saw Daniel and walked over to him. When she stopped in front of his desk, he looked up and smiled.

"Hello Lily, how may I help you?"

"Where's the loo?" she asked, and Daniel laughed, "What?"

"Nothing, just unexpected question," he said, wiping his face, "It's over there," he said, pointing to his right. Lily looked over and saw a mahogany door.

"How do you know which one's female and which one's male?" she asked, and he chuckled once again.

"Sorry," he said, realizing she was not in the mood to be teased, "Female is the one I pointed out to you, male's opposite," he said, pointing to the other side.

"Thank you," Lily said, squeezing her eyes tight as she felt another surge of pain.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly, and Lily opened her eyes, gave him a stiff smile, and nodded. Before he could ask her anything else, she walked over to the bathroom. She almost ran into a cubicle and grabbed the handle of the door for support as she doubled over.

Once she had changed, Lily made her way back to the Academy. Daniel wasn't at his desk anymore, so she didn't have to answer any questions on if she was okay. She pushed open the door to Auror Academy, silently putting up a shield charm incase Moody was trying to catch her off guard, and was right. As soon as she entered the room, a spell flew at her, rebounding off her shield.

"Bloody hell," Moody muttered, putting his wand back in his pocket, his magical eye still on Lily. Lily, awkwardly, walked over to her desk, noticing how everyone's shoulders were shaking as they laughed, and got back to her book without as much as a glance at James, who was trying to catch her eye. She reached down into her purse and popped two pills into her mouth, causing James's eyebrows to rise, and continued on with her work.

* * *

"Lily?" Alice said once their day of Auror Academy was over. It had been a boring day. Maybe Moody was tired of scaring people. Or he was trying to catch them off guard. It sounded like something he would do, "So, er, my wedding," Alice continued, measuring Lily's reaction. Lily closed her eyes and then looked at Alice, "Well, we're moving it up to in two weeks instead of in four," she said, and Lily's eyes widened.

"Why?"

"Franks mum wants it to be on the same day she and her husband got married," Alice said irritably, and Lily smirked at her friends' irritation.

"Alright,"

"Well, will you come over tomorrow and help me do some stuff? You and Hest I mean?"

"Can't tomorrow, we have that Order meeting," Lily sighed. She had told all her friends about it during their lunch break, and they had all agreed to come, some of them (AKA Sirius and James) too enthusiastic for her liking. Alice frowned slightly and nodded, "Maybe we can do it right after Auror stuff tomorrow?" she suggested. She could practically see the long list of things to do that Alice was running through her mind.

"You're the best," Alice squealed, wrapping her arms around Lily's middle and hugging her tightly, causing Lily to gasp.

"Alice get off," Lily whimpered, and Alice let go abruptly, smiling at Lily apologetically.

"I'll see you later, going to Frank's to do some wedding stuff," she grumbled, before walking over and taking Franks' hand. The two of them disapparated and Lily sighed. She was now stuck with boys who did not understand her PMS state.

"Lily-flower!" Sirius sung, draping his arm around her shoulder. Lily narrowed her eyes up at him and he withdrew his arm, frightened. Lily pulled out her cell phone, which had vibrated, and looked down to read a long text message from her mother. While Lily was reading the message, Sirius fell back, walking next to James and Remus.

"What's wrong with Lily-flower?" he asked loudly, and Lily huffed.

"Why don't you just ask me?" she asked irritably, and James's eyebrows rose. Lily usually didn't snap at people.

"I would but I'm fearful that you'll bite my head off with your amazing Auror skills," he said, and Lily's mouth twitched. She turned back to her phone, and James started to walk next to her.

"Lils?" he asked, and Lily sighed.

"What?"

"Er, are you alright?"

"Why?" she asked, turning to look at him with irritated green eyes.

"Because you've been acting weirdly, and I'm worried about you," he said, matching her tone, and Lily sighed, turning back to her phone. She groaned as her pain came back and closed her eyes tightly. James looked at her worriedly, "Lils what's wrong?"

"I have cramps!" she yelled at him and James flushed, "I have my bloody period, and my stupid uterus is hurting!" she yelled. James, who was not good with girl stuff, looked around for inspiration.

"Oh, er, um, right, those," he stammered awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Do you, er, want to go home then?" he asked, and Lily nodded, "Do you, er, want me to come along?" he asked, and Lily shrugged

"Your choice"

"I want to come," he smiled sweetly, and Lily huffed.

"Honestly James I'm already dating you," she said irritably, but wrapped her arms around him all the same, "Let's go," she said, breathing in the smell of James, musky and woodsy and, well, boy like, and James smiled slightly, before holding onto her, waving to his friends, and disapparating. Lily squeezed James tighter as the apparation played with her abdomen, and almost collapsed when they reached her bedroom.

"So, er," James said, still awkward about the fact that his girlfriend had cramps. Lily laughed at his awkwardness and hugged him tighter.

"Thanks for not hating me," she said, and James looked down at her softly.

"Lily, you can't hate someone you love," he said, and Lily grinned up at him.

"I was terrible today!"

"Yes, that you were," he said, and Lily grimaced.

"Sorry"

"That's okay," he said, and then sighed.

"What?"

"I don't like the idea of you being in pain," he said, sitting down on the ridge thing below her window, and pulling her to sit in front of him, so she was in between his legs, leaning on him.

"It happens every month, I'm used to it," she said, wincing slightly.

"First off, nobody get's used to pain," he said, and Lily giggled, "Secondly, I still don't like the idea of something hurting you, even if it's your stupid feminine parts," he said, and Lily laughed

"So would you rather I didn't have feminine parts?"

"No, I didn't say that," he chuckled, kissing her head, and Lily laughed again. How did this stupid boy manage to make her feel better, even when she was PMS-ing? Weren't boys allergic to that kind of thing?

"You implied it, anyway, you worrying about me getting hurt is stupid. I mean, we're going to be Aurors, and fight of dark wizards, and get cursed and stuff," she said, wincing as she thought of James in all those situations. She felt James stiffen and turned around to look at him, ignoring the tug in her stomach as she did so.

"Are you sure you want to be an Auror?" he asked weakly, and Lily nodded.

"Are you?"

"Yes," he snorted, and Lily sighed

"You have to be careful," she said, turning around so she was kneeling, facing him.

"I'm always careful," he teased, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him. She reached out and traced her finger over the cut on his face, which he had received during the reading time, and James hissed slightly as it stung.

"Evidently not," she said, pulling her wand out. James watched as Lily's face pinched with concentration as she slowly healed the wound on his face. She came closer to examine it, and to make sure there would be no scarring. James leaned in quickly while she was so close he could see the light sprinkling of freckles around her nose, and kissed her lightly. Lily blinked, shocked, and then laughed. James laughed along with her, as Lily turned to her side and lay down on James so her head was on his chest. He began to run his fingers through her long red hair. Lily could hear his heartbeat and relaxed as she listened to it.

"I like your freckles," James said after a while, and Lily groaned, putting her hand up to cover her nose.

"I don't," she said, and James laughed. He pulled her hand away from her face and then started tapping the freckles

"I do, they're so cute, you look like a bunny rabbit," he said, chuckling, as Lily scrunched her nose.

"A cute one I hope," she said sternly, and James chuckled.

"Yes, definitely,"

"Okay, I can live with that," she said, and James laughed.

"You're okay with being a bunny rabbit?"

"As long as I'm a cute bunny rabbit, yes," she said, and he chuckled, shaking his head fondly.

"LILY!" they jumped as Hestia's voice screamed through the apartment. The door to her room flew open and Hestia froze as she saw the couple sitting together, "Well aren't you two just adorable," she said, and James flushed, fiddling with his hair.

"Yes Hestia?" Lily asked, turning so she was facing Hestia, but still lying down on James's chest

"I see you didn't bite his head off today," she said matter-of-factly, and James laughed as Lily flushed

"She tried to kill Sirius," he said, and Hestia rolled her eyes

"I don't blame her, I would too in that situation," she snorted, and Lily grinned, "Anyway, oh Merlin, I have to tell you something!" she squealed, sitting down in front of Lily and whacking her arm on Lily's leg.

"Bloody _ow _Hestia!" Lily squealed, rubbing at her thigh where Hestia had rudely slapped her.

"That didn't hurt"

"Like you'd know," Lily muttered, and she felt James's chest vibrate as he chuckled, "Shouldn't you be at work?" she asked

"Yes, but I got a 10 minute break so I came to find you, to tell you something!" Hestia said

"Go ahead," Lily said, lying down on her back again, her head on James's chest still. Honestly, lying on your side with cramps was terrible. Gravity was evil.

"You'll never believe what happened today! Okay, so, are you ready?" she asked, and the couple nodded, "I GOT AN ASSIGNMENT!" she squealed excitedly, and Lily's eyes widened.

"Hestia that's amazing!" she said happily, and Hestia nodded.

"And guess what. I have to cover, wait for it…wait for it…" she said, building up suspense, "A QUIDDITCH MATCH!" she yelled, and Lily felt James perk up.

"REALLY? WHO?" he asked excitedly, and Lily sat up, also excited.

"Holyhead Harpies vs. Wimbledon Wasps!" she yelled excitedly, and Lily squealed.

"Gwenog?"

"YES!"

"THAT'S AMAZING!"

"I KNOW!"

"When?" Lily asked.

"The game's on Thursday," James answered, and Lily rolled her eyes. What was it with all boys and sports? It was like a spreading disease.

"And the best part is I get to take guests!" she said happily, and Lily gasped.

"Can I come?" she asked excitedly, and Hestia rolled her eyes

"No Lily, you cannot," she said, and Lily pouted, causing James to laugh, "Obviously you can you idiot, anyway, so I have tickets for you, James, Sirius, Remus, Alice, Frank, and two more," she said, "I'm going to take your dad," she said, looking at Lily, who smiled.

"You got him a ticket?"

"Yes," Hestia smiled, "And I got your dad a ticket too because I know I'd be murdered if I didn't," Hestia said, grinning at James, who laughed and nodded, "My parents don't want to come, I offered, and I don't want to take Tyler," she explained to nobody in general, and then ruffled Lily's hair, "Okay I have to go back to work but you cannot do anything Thursday night," she said, shaking her finger at her, and Lily laughed. Hestia grinned at James, who was practically exploding with excitement, and disapparated.

"WE'RE GOING TO AN ACTUAL QUIDDITCH MATCH!" James squealed in a girly manner, and Lily laughed, and nodded.

"We are," she said, grinning at James, who was practically bouncing in excitement, "You should go tell Sirius and Remus," she said, and James's eyes widened.

"MERLIN! They don't know!" he said, and jumped up, causing Lily to fall with a thump back onto the cushions, "OH MERLIN I'm so sorry!" he yelled, his hands fluttering around Lily. Lily giggled and sat up.

"I'm fine James," she said calmly, and he grinned at her, "Go tell your friends, I'll see you tonight," she assured him, and he grinned even more.

"YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE WHAT I PLANNED FOR YOU!" he yelled, and Lily winced.

"Why are you yelling?" she asked, exasperated, and James's eyes widened.

"Am I? I'm sorry! It was a reflex. Merlin I don't know what I'm saying!" he yelled excitedly. Lily laughed and stood up, kissing him on the cheek.

"Go to your friends," she said stnerly, and James saluted to her, causing her to laugh.

"I will pick you up at seven your maiden-ship," he said, bowing, before disapparating. Lily chuckled to herself. Maybe Sirius was just a more excited version of James. She sighed and walked towards her bathroom, deciding to take a shower to get rid off the PMS and the Ministry.

* * *

"PADFOOT! MOONY!" James bellowed through the Potter Mansion, where Remus was staying until the Marauder flat was ready. Peter was going to be getting there that Friday, so the house would be full of Marauders.

"WHAT?"

_My friends are polite, _James said in his head sarcastically, as he sprinted up the stairs. He ran into his bedroom, throwing open the door so it slammed into the wall with a smack, causing his friends to jump

"Bloody hell Prongs," whined Sirius, as he tried to slow down his heart rate. The two boys turned to look at their friend and frowned, "Why are you so excited?" Sirius asked, and James grinned even wider.

"BECAUSE!" he yelled happily, running into the middle of their Wizards Chess game, "We, my friends, are going to a Quidditch Match," he said, and, as expected, the two boys jumped up quickly.

"WE ARE?"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"No that's me," Sirius said, and they all laughed, "REALLY?" he asked, turning to James, who nodded excitedly, "HOW?"

"YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" James yelled, and Sirius's eyebrows rose.

"What?"

"She just came to find Lily while I was there and she said she got an assignment and that it's to write about the Quidditch Game this Thursday between the Wimbledon Wasps and the Holyhead Harpies so we get to watch Gwenog play also as well as watching a real life Quidditch match and we get really good seats because all the reporters get really good seats in the top box!" James replied in a ridiculous run on sentence, barely stopping to take a breath.

"I LOVE YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" Remus shrieked at Sirius, and all three boys started to jump up and down excitedly.

"So, that was extremely girly," said Sirius in a deep voice, once they had all finished their girly session of jumping, squealing and hugging.

"That never happened," Remus declared.

"What never happened?" James asked, and Remus grinned.

"What are you talking about Moony," Sirius said, and Remus rolled his eyes, "So what was wrong with your girlfriend today?" Sirius asked, turning to James, who flushed slightly

"Er, cramps," he said awkwardly, and the other two boys flushed.

"Oh"

"Right"

"I see"

"Ehem"

"Yeah"

"Period"

"Yeah"

"Mmm"

"Er"

"Yep"

"So she has PMS?" Sirius asked, and the other two turned to look at him

"Yeah, that's what I just said," James said, confused.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Sirius asked angrily, and James turned to look at Remus, who looked as confused as he felt.

"Do you have PMS?" Remus asked, amused, and James snickered

"I do right now!" Sirius yelled, and they turned to frown at him.

"What do you mean?"

"PMS! It's your fault!" Sirius said, jabbing his finger at James, who spluttered

"How the hell is it my fault?"

"Duh, PMS is pissed at men syndrome," Sirius said, and the other two burst out laughing, "What?"

"That's funny," Remus said, wiping at his eyes, and Sirius frowned.

"What's funny?"

"The pissed at men syndrome thing," Remus replied, looking at Sirius, who still looked confused.

"Do you think that's actually what it stands for?" James asked incredulously.

"It is what it stands for," Sirius frowned, and the other two burst out laughing, "WHAT?"

"Should we tell him?" Remus asked James, and James sighed.

"We probably should"

"It is for his own good"

"Tell me what?"

"Pads, sit down."

* * *

When James arrived at Lily's flat that night, at seven on the dot, it was to see Lily sitting in the living room, dressed, and reading a book. He looked from her short skirt to her tight, slightly revealing v-neck top, and then up at her hair, which she had tied up in the same bun she'd had it in at the dinner party, with a hungry expression in his eyes. Lily turned to look at him and flushed slightly under his intent gaze, before putting her book down, trying hard not to ogle him. He was dressed in dark jeans, which were only a little tighter than his usual, and a thin maroon shirt.

"Hi," Lily said, walking over to him. James looked down and saw that she was in strappy heels. He had to remember to thank Hestia later.

"Hey," he breathed back, and Lily grinned at him

"So what are we doing tonight?" she asked excitedly, and James grinned down at her.

"I see you're in a better mood," he teased, and Lily flushed.

"I looked up a potion alright?" she said defensively, and he grinned at her.

"Good, I wasn't looking forward to spending time with the Grinch," he chuckled, and Lily's eyebrows rose.

"The Grinch?"

"Yes, the one who stole Christmas," he said, and Lily frowned.

"How do you know about the Grinch? It's a muggle story," she pointed out, and James flushed slightly

"I was looking through your muggle books," he said, and Lily laughed, linking her elbow through his.

"So where are we going?" she asked, and James took her hand.

"You okay to apparate?" he asked, and Lily nodded.

"Answer my question!"

"I am," he winked, before turning on the spot. Lily's stomach was in frenzy. It had cramps, which she couldn't feel pain from thanks to the potion she had found, it was in the midst of flipping from the wink James had given her, and it was being pulled around because of the apparating. Crazy stomach.

"What?" Lily asked, as she opened her eyes to see darkness, "Have we landed?"

"Yes," James chuckled, squeezing her hand

"Why is it so dark?"

"Because it's supposed to be," he said matter-of-factly, and Lily sighed.

"James,"

"Lily," he said, matching her tone. Lily squished his hand, but James didn't seem to notice, "Was that all your strength?" he asked incredulously, and Lily decided not to answer, "You're so cute Evans"

"Shut it Potter," she grumbled, and James laughed. She felt his hand tug her towards him and screamed as something draped over her shoulder

"Honestly Lily!" he yelped, "That's my arm!"

"Well some warning would be nice! I hate the dark!"

"Why?" he asked curiously

"Constant Vigilance!"

"Shut it Moody," he growled, and Lily laughed. She felt herself being steered and relaxed as she remembered she was with James. He would not let anything happen to her.

"Wait we never checked!"

"We never checked what?" he murmured.

"If we were really each other!"

"I don't follow you," he said bluntly, and Lily laughed.

"I mean, are you really James Potter? You could be an imposter"

"Lils I can prove to you I'm the Potter you know and love,"

"Oh really, how?"

Lily suddenly felt lips on hers, moving urgently and passionately with hers. She responded with as much enthusiasm, thankful, for once, for the heels on her feet, which were fixing their outrageous height difference. She pulled herself closer to him, and heard him groan in the back of his throat as she bit his lip. The hands on her waist gripped her harder, and Lily was suddenly extremely thankful she hadn't thrown away her NEWT potions book. They hadn't studied the potion for periods, but it was in there. Lily felt the need to take a breath, and tried to turn away, but James only kissed her harder, and she continued to kiss him. Who needed oxygen when you could be doing this? She felt his hands move up to hold her around her ribs, and trembled. There was something extremely appealing about snogging in the dark. It made everything more exciting.

After snogging for a few minutes, they disconnected, both gasping for some desperately needed oxygen. They pulled back, breathing heavily, and Lily felt what she could only assume and hope to be James's forehead rest against hers, "Now, are you convinced it's me?" he asked in a husky, breathless voice

"I don't know, I might need more convincing," she said in a matter of fact tone, and felt James's body, which was still pressed up against hers, shake as he chuckled.

"Someone's greedy today," he teased, and Lily grinned up at the darkness. She had no idea how far away his face was from hers, but she found that she didn't care.

"My hormones _are_ raging," she pointed out, and James laughed

"I think me and your time of the month are going to be great friends," he said in a serious voice, and Lily laughed. James almost groaned as Lily's body shook against his, but bit it back.

"I think they hate Sirius," she said and James guffawed.

"That's fine, as long as they don't hate me,"

"How do you know they don't hate you?"

"Because of the sensational snog I just had, which was sensational by the way"

"Maybe that's just how my body reacts to you, and yes it was"

"I can live with that," he said in a low voice, and Lily felt tingles spread through her as his hands tightened slightly on her shoulder blades. She felt his hand move down her arm and then his fingers intertwined in hers, "Now, believe it or not, this is not the date," he said, and Lily chuckled.

"That's a shame, the dark makes things more exciting," she said, and James groaned quietly

"We'll come back when your time of the month is gone," he assured her, and Lily felt warmth spread through her. Now _that _would be an experience.

"Okay, but we still need a question," she said, and James had to think for a second before remembering their previous conversation.

"You know, I just realized, that you had no idea that was really me. You could have snogged _anybody _like that," he said, his stomach acid boiling at the thought of someone snogging Lily like he just had. It made him want to kill something.

"No, I knew it was you," she said, and James's eyebrows rose, not that anybody could notice.

"How?"

"Well, I know what your lips feel like," she said, and James grinned into the darkness. Lily Evans, knowing what his lips felt like? He wouldn't have believed that in his fifth year.

"Okay good," he said, and Lily snorted.

"We can't do _that _every time we meet to make sure it's really the other one," she said, and James pouted, not that she could see.

"I don't mind"

"I'm sure you don't," she chuckled, and James squeezed her hand teasingly, "James we need a question!"

"Okay, what is our question?"

"Is it safe here?"

"That's a pathetic question"

"No!" Lily laughed, leaning on his arm, "I meant, this place we are, can we talk about this here?"

"Oh!" James laughed, wrapping his arm around her, "Yes it's safe here"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," he said, and Lily nodded, trusting him,

"So what is our question?"

"Bloody hell Lily I asked you," he said, and Lily laughed.

"Favorite band?"

"Too easy"

"Favorite colour"

"Yours keeps changing!"

"How did you know?"

"I know you,"

"Fine," Lily huffed, and she felt James chuckle, "Password for the Heads Dorm?"

"No that's too easy to figure out"

"Okay, er, location of the Room of Requirement?"

"Lot's of people know it now"

"Well you think of something then!" she squealed, and James guffawed.

"Well, my parents use a word they made up," he said, and Lily giggled

"That's cute"

"Yeah, so nobody could know anything about it"

"That's a good idea"

"It is," he hummed, and Lily turned to look up in his direction. It was still pitch black after all.

"So what do you want to do?"

"Well, I don't want to do that," he replied, and Lily nodded. It made sense.

"Alright, then what do you want to do?"

"Let's discuss this later,"

"Why?"

"Because we're here," he said, and suddenly, Lily could see. Trees surrounded them.

"What are we doing here?" she hissed, and James grinned.

"Let me show you," he said, dragging her over to a hill. Lily allowed him to pull her towards the hill, looking back at where they had just exited, to see a thick forest, and shuddered slightly. They had snogged in a forest? She was definitely not doing that again. Maybe they'd just go to a dark room next time. James stopped on top of a hill and Lily gasped as she looked around.

"Where are we?" she breathed, and James grinned.

"We, my dear, are in Godric's Hollow."

"Where Godric Gryffindor was born!" she squealed, tugging on his arm, and James laughed, nodding.

"The very same," he chuckled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"So our first date as graduates, you bring us back to Gryffindor?" she teased, and James laughed.

"Obviously," he said, and the two walked onto a brick road. It was beautiful, Lily thought. The houses looked like cottages, but looked as if they would be extremely beautiful on the inside.

"It's so pretty," she cooed, and James grinned down at her.

"It is isn't it?"

"Haven't you always wanted to live here?" she asked, and James rubbed the back of his neck, nodding.

"Yes"

"Then why don't you? I mean, get a place with the Marauders here," she said, gesturing around, and James shook his head.

"I always figured I'd move here after I got married and was having a family and stuff," he shrugged, and Lily nodded. She suddenly had a flash of her and James, married, living here, walking down the streets, each holding one of a toddler's hands, and grinned. She wondered if that would ever happen

"So you love it here," she grinned.

"Pretty much, since the first time I came here," he smiled.

"When was that?" she asked, genuinely curious to hear his answer.

"A long time ago," he frowned, "My parents came to visit Baggy."

"Who's Baggy?" Lily frowned.

"Bathilda Bagshot."

"THE HISTORIAN!" Lily shrieked, and James clapped his hand over her mouth, grinning smoothly at the muggles who were looking at them curiously.

"Bloody hell Lily," he chuckled, as Lily flushed under the people's curious, and irritated, glares

"I keep forgetting this isn't a magical town," she said, and James frowned down at her.

"Why would you think it was magic?"

"Because it's got so much magic! I mean, Godric Gryffindor was born here! And the Dumbledore's used to live here, and Bathilda Bagshot lives here. It's bloody magical," she finished, and James laughed.

"I see your point"

"That's because it's a good point," she said, and James rolled his eyes.

"Yes, okay," he chuckled, and veered her towards a little cottage.

"Where are we going?" she asked excitedly

"My favorite restaurant," he grinned, and Lily looked up at him with raised eyebrows, "I've been coming here since I was five," he said, and Lily grinned

"It's not going to be some place with a puppet show and a pool of balls is it?" she asked, and James laughed.

"A pool of balls? What kind of places do you go to?" he wheezed, as Lily flushed a violent shade of maroon.

"That came out completely wrong," she said, and James laughed, nodding, "You know what I meant!" she said defensively.

"Actually, love, no I don't," he said, and Lily gasped.

"What do you people _do _as children?" she asked, and James chuckled.

"We play on brooms that levitate a foot of the ground, we play exploding snap, we play Quidditch," he shrugged, and Lily rolled her eyes. Muggle children had so much more fun.

"So you never played with water guns, played in ball pools, played tag or hide and seek?" she asked, and James shook his head.

"I don't even know what those things are," he said, and Lily huffed.

"That's it, we're getting you a childhood," she said, and James snorted.

"Bit late for that isn't it?"

"No," she said, and James grinned.

"How are you going to get my childhood? I wasn't aware we could buy that at Diagon Alley," he said, and Lily giggled

"Didn't you know? They're selling them at Quality Quidditch Supplies to make up for the childhood they filled up with idiocy," she said, and James gasped, causing Lily to laugh.

"Take it back," he threatened, as they walked into the restaurant.

"No," she shrugged, and James narrowed his eyes at her.

"Take. It. Back."

"No," she challenged, grinning cheekily up at him.

"Do you have a reservation?" the waitress at the podium at the entrance of the restaurant asked, grinning. She had been standing there as the two argued.

"Yep," James said, and Lily watched as the waitress melted as she looked at him, "Under Potter"

"James Potter?" she asked, and James nodded, "This way," she said, offering him a wide smile, before walking away. James hadn't noticed the waitress's interest in him; then again, he had eyes for nobody but Lily. The waitress, whose name was Brenda, as said on her name tag, led them to a circular booth in the back. She handed them both menus, well, handed James a menu and practically threw it at Lily, probably in her attempt to murder her, before giving James a large grin, and walking away.

"What should I order?" Lily asked, looking through the menu. James didn't answer, "James?" he continued to ignore her, and Lily grabbed his menu. James looked up at the ceiling, "What?"

"You have to take it back. I'm not talking to you," he said, looking behind her, and Lily giggled. She scooted over to sit next to him and kissed his cheek,

"I take it back," she said, and James grinned happily.

"Okay, so, I already know what to order for you and for me, so we'll just order," he declared, and Lily frowned.

"How do you know what to order for me?" she asked, and he flushed slightly

"Well, I found out what kind of foods you liked in, fourth year I think it was, and then I came here and memorized a menu I'd order for you," he said awkwardly, and Lily giggled.

"You're so cute," she grinned, and James smiled down at her.

"Thank you,"

"Not a good thing," she said, and James pouted.

"And why not?"

"Watch," she said, as Brenda sauntered over enthusiastically, from where she had been watching Lily and James with narrowed eyes. Brenda batted her eyelashes at James, making a show of pulling her pad of paper out of her pocket.

"What do you want me to do for you?" she asked suggestively, and Lily had to control her gag reflex. Honestly, how transparent could people get? Lily was momentarily embarrassed for her gender.

James ordered their food, and Lily had to check to make sure drool hadn't slid down her chin.

"Sound good?" he asked her, and Lily turned to look at him with wide eyes, and he laughed, "I'll take that as a yes," he chuckled, "So what was I supposed to watch?" he asked curiously, leaning towards her, and Lily frowned.

"You didn't notice?"

"Was I supposed to notice something?"

"It was so obvious!" she squeaked, gesturing to the place Brenda had just been standing.

"What? The waitress? I knew she was there…" he said uncertainly, and Lily laughed.

"No, I meant, the flirting!"

"I wasn't flirting with her!" James squeaked, and Lily rolled her eyes

"Yes, I know. If you had I would have cruciated you," she said, and James grinned, "I meant her!"

"She wasn't flirting," he snorted, and Lily gave him a deadpan look, "She was?" he asked incredulously, running his hand through his hair, and Lily nodded, "No she wasn't! Plus, I wouldn't have noticed anyway, I don't look at anyone else," he shrugged, and Lily flushed slightly.

"That was flirting! Honestly James, if I had been doing those things to you, you would have noticed," she huffed, and James's eyes twinkled.

"What was she doing?" he asked, leaning towards her, and Lily frowned.

"Er, batting eyelashes, suggestive speaking, the chest thing, the eyelids thing," she started listing things, and James's eyebrows rose

"Chest thing?"

"That's all you heard?" Lily asked, amused and exasperated.

"No, that's the one I didn't understand," he pointed out, and Lily laughed.

"It's where you put your arms on either side of your, er, chest extensions," she said, and James laughed, "oh shut up, I wasn't about to use vulgar language at the table," she hissed, and James chuckled, "Anyway, yes you put them there, and then squish," she shrugged, and James frowned slightly.

"How do you know about those?" he asked, slightly irritably. He didn't like the idea of Lily flirting with anyone else. It was a touchy topic.

"I'm a female," she said, and James laughed.

"I'm aware," he replied, and Lily grinned, "I don't know what you mean though! Like how was she doing all those things?" he asked, and Lily sighed.

"Do I have to demonstrate?" she asked, and James nodded enthusiastically. Lily sighed. She raised her eyebrows and he nodded happily. Lily sighed and undid her hair, letting it fall everywhere. She mussed it up, and then flipped it all to one side. She tilted her head to the side, and started batting her eyelashes. James blinked, feeling his stomach flip slightly. She leaned forward, and did the chest thing, and she saw his eyes widen as his eyes moved down. She then bit her lip, and looked at him through her eyelashes, "James," she said in a quiet, breathless voice, and James gulped. Lily burst out laughing.

"Continue!" he whined, but Lily was too busy laughing, "Lily Clare Evans!" he grumbled, crossing his arms. Lily grinned and leaned into his chest, resting her chin on his chest, her face angled to look up at him. James was grinning down at her.

"See?" she asked, sitting up slightly, still sitting close to him. She had one of her legs resting up on the seat, lying down, so she was facing James, who had one of his knees up, resting against the back of the booth.

"That's what she was doing?" he chuckled, turning to look at Brenda, who was trying to kill Lily with her eyes. Lily grinned and nodded, "I liked it better on you," he said, and Lily burst out laughing again.

"Thank you, I've had practice," she said, and James's eyes narrowed, "Oh relax," she teased, and he chuckled lightly.

"You never flirt with me," he pouted, and Lily rolled her eyes

"Don't hold your breath," she retorted, and James gasped. He opened his mouth to retort when Brenda walked over, holding two dishes. Lily felt her stomach grumble just looking at them. James chuckled as he heard Lily's stomach grumbled, and grinned at Brenda, who gave him a large, suggestive smile. She put his dish gently down in front of him, and attempted to shatter Lily's placing it down. Lily didn't care though; she had food in front of her.

"Food!" she squealed, and James laughed. Brenda threw Lily a dirty look and then winked at James, before walking away, "Okay you saw _that _right?" Lily asked, and James laughed, nodding.

"Are you jealous, love?" he asked, and Lily shook her head.

"I still have my real lover, Sirius Black," she said, and James guffawed.

"As if"

"Where do you think I get my flirting practice?" she winked, and James threw her a look, causing her to grin cheekily

"You're suddenly very cheerful," he chuckled, as Lily devoured her food.

"I'm hungry!" she said defensively, and James shook his head fondly, getting back to his meal. James had ordered Lily spaghetti, and as Lily slurped a string in, it smacked her in the face, splattering sauce all over her face, and James burst out laughing, "Shut up!" she laughed, reaching over for her napkin. James picked his off his lap and leaned towards Lily, wiping the sauce off from everywhere on her face; her nose, her forehead, and her mouth. Lily watched, enchanted, as James's face came so close to her she could see the individual specks of golden and green in his hazel eyes.

"Can you stop staring?" he whined, and Lily laughed. James grinned at her and stood up, "Shall we?" he asked, and Lily looked down at his plate. He was done, and so was she.

"Where did my food go?" she asked, upset, and James grinned.

"You ate it love," he pointed out, and Lily sighed

"I was afraid of that." James laughed and pulled out his wallet, "I can do that!" she said, reaching for her purse, but James ignored her, laying down enough money to buy a small car, "That's too much," she said, and James frowned.

"Really? How much is that?"

"That's about 15 galleons," she said, and James's eyebrows shot up,

"Help me!" he whined, holding the bill out to her.

"I can pay," she said, but James snorted, "Fine, but I'm paying for ice cream," she said. James opened his mouth to argue but Lily clapped her hand over his mouth, "Not open to negotiation," she said sternly, and she felt James grin underneath her hand. She moved her hand, and ignoring the amount of money in James's wallet, laid down the appropriate amount, "Ta da!" she announced, putting James's wallet in her purse.

"Er, Lily?" he asked, and Lily grinned.

"This way I have to pay for ice cream," she grinned, and James rolled his eyes. Stupid girl. He put his arm around her shoulders and led her from the restaurant.

"Thank you for coming! Come back soon! You know where we are!" Brenda yelled after them, and James turned around to smile at her before leaving the restaurant. Lily suddenly grabbed James's hand and started to run, dragging James after her.

"What was that?" he asked, as they stopped around the corner.

"I thought she was going to follow us," Lily said, peering around the corner, feeling like a spy. James started to laugh and Lily smacked her hand over his mouth, "Shh she might hear us!" she teased, and James chuckled, moving her hand.

"So I'll drop you back now," he said, looking down at his watch. Lily looked down to see that it was 9:30.

"No, it's so early," she said, and James snorted.

"Lils we have Auror training tomorrow again," he pointed out, and Lily rolled her eyes, "Just because _you're _good at it," he muttered, and Lily laughed.

"You're good too, I'm just constantly vigilant," she grinned, and James guffawed, "But it's so early!" she whined, "And I'm not going home until you have your childhood," she said, crossing her arms, and James chuckled.

"Alright, where do we go for my childhood?" he asked, and Lily grinned. She took his hand and disapparated. James opened his eyes to see himself in a dark, colourful place, "Where are we?" he whispered, and Lily grinned. She left him there and walked over to the corner, where she knew the light switches were. She flicked them on and James looked around in wonder.

"Where are we?" he asked excitedly, and Lily grinned.

"We're at the place where I practically grew up," she chuckled, "We're only here for one thing though," she said, and James nodded. Lily gestured behind her and James's jaw fell open, "We're going to play on the jungle gym," she grinned, and James laughed.

"Are we allowed?"

"I'll just leave a few pounds behind to make up for it," she shrugged, and James grinned.

"I've never seen this side of you before," he noted, and Lily shrugged.

"No-one has," she said simply, before grabbing James's hand and pulling him into the jungle gym. James watched as Lily transfigured her skirt for long pants.

"Why would you do that?" he asked irritably, and Lily laughed.

"I don't want to get a burn," she said, and James's eyebrows rose.

"Is it dangerous?" he asked, eying the jungle gym warily, and Lily laughed.

"Not a fire burn. A friction burn," she clarified, and James nodded, "Come on!" she squealed. James laughed and followed her into the large array of colours and shapes. Lily and James crawled through the entire jungle gym, going down slides, climbing up walls, and swinging on ropes.

"This is so much fun!" James said happily, when they reached the bottom of the slide for the billionth time.

"I know right?" Lily said excitedly, "Now I want to show you my favorite part," she said, and grabbed his forearm.

"Better than this?" he asked, gesturing around the rest of the jungle gym. Lily nodded and grinned, pulling him in a different direction. James followed her eagerly. This was better than the childhood he remembered. Lily stopped and James almost fell over, "Where are we?" he asked.

"The ball pool!" she said happily, before jumping off a ledge. James yelped, and then stumbled as he reached the ledge, and looked down into a load of colourful plastic balls.

"NO WAY!" he shrieked, and Lily laughed, 'swimming' to the other side of the ball pool. James took a few steps back, before taking a running start and cannonball-ing into the ball pool. He fell through the colours and looked around for Lily, who was on the other side of the ball pool, lying on her back, "What are you doing?" he asked excitedly, making his way over to her.

"I used to lie here and look up, and then try to throw balls up and hit that," she said, pointing to the cloth all the way above. James lay down and looked up, and found himself extremely relaxed. Suddenly Lily's arm sprung up, launching a ball up at the ceiling. It didn't reach, obviously, and made its way towards James's face. James shrieked and rolled away, and Lily laughed.

"That's not funny!" he yelled, contradicting himself as he yelled through his laughter. He picked up a ball and launched it at Lily, who squealed and ducked. What had started in an innocent act by Lily, resulted in a full on war all over the jungle gym. Lily had James cornered, after all, she knew the jungle gym by heart, and was holding a ball up, ready to launch it, when there was a yell.

"HELLO? IS SOMEONE HERE?" Lily and James paled. They dropped the balls and quietly ran over to where they had dumped their belongings at the entrance of the ball pool. Lily took James's hand as the voice of the janitor came approached them, and disapparated.

James looked around to see himself in a child's playground. The two looked at each other before bursting into laughter, "I can't believe someone was there!" he wheezed, and Lily nodded her agreement through her laughter.

When they caught their breath, Lily looked around, "This is a playground," she said, and James grinned.

"Did you used to come here often?" he asked curiously, walking over to a large circle on the ground.

"Yep, we're only down the street from my house," she grinned, and James smiled. He stood on the circle thing, and screamed as it started to move with his weight.

"LILY!"

Lily was too busy laughing. She put her bag more securely on her shoulder and took a running start, launching herself on the merry-go-round, so that it swung around faster, laughing as James screeched. After a few minutes, James began to enjoy himself, and laughed along with Lily as they fell around, playing jelly on the floor. They got of the merry-go-round, and James abruptly fell over out of dizziness. Lily, who was stumbling around, grabbed the pole to the swing and grinned down at James, sitting on his bum on the floor. He stood up, brushing himself off, and walked over to Lily.

"What are these?" he asked, gesturing to the swings, and Lily grinned

"Swings, sit down," she said, taking the swing she always sat on. James took Petunia's swing. She looked towards a bush, and remembered the day Severus had jumped out of it to tell her she was a witch, wearing his mother's blouse and his father's blazer. She shook her head and turned towards James, who had figured out how to swing for himself.

"This is amazing! I wish I was muggleborn," he breathed, letting the wind fly through his hair. Lily grinned at him and began to swing as well.

"Watch!" she said excitedly. James stopped and watched as Lily swing high in the air. At the highest point, she jumped off the swing, landing lightly on her feet and turned to grin at James, who tried it after her, landing exactly as she had.

"You're lucky you had a normal childhood," he said, taking her hand, and Lily grinned at him.

"Yes, I am," she shrugged, and he smiled down at her. Lily yawned and James looked down at his watch. It was 11:30.

"Lils we should go," he said, and Lily sighed, nodding. He took her hand and disapparated, heading back to her flat.

Severus rose slowly from the bush where he had been hiding, and looked at the spot Lily had just disapparated from. She had looked right at him, and he knew she remembered. He sighed, and turned around, kicking a rock, and making his way back to Spinner's End, where his parents were still living.

* * *

"Good night," Lily said, smiling up at James, who dropped her off outside her room. James smiled down at her.

"I had a great time," he said genuinely, and Lily grinned.

"Me too,"

"See you tomorrow, love. Big day, first Order meeting," he said, and Lily nodded.

"See you tomorrow," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips gently to his. James kissed her back tenderly, before they released each other.

"I love you," he said into her hair, and disapparated. Lily, grinning to herself, walked into her bedroom, changed, and fell asleep quickly, dreaming of ball pools and jungle gyms.

**

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Hey! Hope you liked it! I wrote it to celebrate the weekend. I had a giant wave of nostalgia today, so I went along with the ball pools and jungle gyms. **

**Happy fanficcing!**


	5. Spy

**Hey sorry this took a long time! I wrote a chapter and then realized i didnt want to use it until later in the story, so i had to start a new chapter. Anyway, hope you like it (:**

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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, honestly, if I did would I be posting on fanfiction? Use your brain**

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Previously:**_

_Lily and James go on a date. Dumbledore tells them about an Order Meeting_

* * *

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Moody yelled suddenly, and a flower died.

The room had been covered in flowers when they had walked in. Honestly, they were everywhere; on the ceiling, on the desks, on the floor, on the windows. There was also a bird fluttering around, as well as multiple woodland creatures, which Moody managed to shoo out of the office, except for the bird. Turns out, the Aurors who had just graduated from Auror Academy had decided to irritate Moody for the fun of it.

Everyone looked around and watched as the flower that Moody had killed, which had been attached to the ceiling, fell down slowly and majestically, landing on James's desk.

He looked down at it and felt his stomach clench. It was a lily. Sirius quickly brushed it off James's desk before James could look too much into it.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Everyone froze as the bird stopped moving in midair, and fell, and looked up at Moody with aghast expressions. Had he actually just done that? Lily was still looking at the bird, feeling her eyes prickle. They had spent the whole day with the bird flying around, and sitting on their shoulders, and tweeting happily, and now it was dead. The bird had fallen just in front of Lily, and had landed on her desk.

"Back to your notes," Moody said, and Lily snapped up to look at him. Just like that? What the hell!"

"Sir, can you please explain why you just _did _that?" Fabian asked, irritated. He was a big one on animal protection, and what he had just witnessed was murder.

"You all need to know what it looks like. There's no escape, nobody has been known to survive it. It's a curse that you all need to get accustomed to, and a feeling you'll have to know how to deal with. Lot's of people in this room _will die." _He said, reading his book, and waved his hand, telling him to get on with it.

Lily, shaking, looked at the bird that was still on her desk. James was still looking at his desk, and Lily slowly reached her hand out to touch the bird. It was cold. She carefully picked it up.

"Ms. Evans what are you doing?" Moody asked, in a nicer manner than he would have asked anybody else causing everyone's heads, except James's, to snap and look at Lily.

"I'm giving it a proper send off," she said, and Moody snorted.

"Ms. Evans, in the real world…"

"Yes, I know, in the real world if you were hit by the Avada Kedavra by a dark wizard it wouldn't happen. Well, that's debatable. It's not like your body just vanishes when it's hit, so you _would _get a proper burial and what not. And also, this bird did not die in the real world; it died in a classroom, killed by a teacher as an example. So I'm going to give it a proper send off," she said. James had to bite his lip. Lily was still PMS-ing, and Moody really did have it coming.

Moody, however, seemed to have enjoyed Lily's rant, "Very well Ms. Evans you may bury the bird," he snorted, and went back to his book. He'd taken a favoring to Lily.

Lily, with the help of James, Sirius, Remus, Alice, Frank, Fabian and Gideon, made the bird a little coffin and wrapped it up nicely. Even as a child, Lily had saved birds and helped them with broken wings and buried them when they died. They slowly levitated it out the window and buried it outside by a tree, "Get back to work," Moody snorted, and they obliged.

"Are you alright?" James asked as they were dismissed. Lily had been shaking the entire time.

"No! I mean that curse is illegal for a reason! To perform it in a class-room, on an innocent bloody bird!" she said, her voice shaking, and James put his arm around her, soothing her. He didn't want to bring up the lily. It had been haunting him.

"Lils, we have to learn," he said softly, and Lily nodded, "Now, I have to go shopping with Sirius," he said, and Lily chuckled.

"So you _are _gay then?" she teased, and James growled lightly, causing Lily to laugh.

"No I am most certainly not gay. Sirius wants us to decorate our rooms the old fashioned way," he rolled his eyes, and Lily laughed

"Sounds like Hest"

"But worse, we're blokes," James pointed out, and Lily smiled, "So I have to go shopping, so does Remus. What are you going to do?" he asked.

"She is helping me with wedding stuff," Alice declared, linking her elbow through Lily's other one, "You already promised," Alice said testily as Lily opened her mouth, and Lily sighed, "I'm just going to go say bye to Frank, and then we're going to stop by the _Prophet _get Hest, and go to my house," she declared, before walking off.

"Help," Lily whimpered, leaning into James, who laughed and kissed the top of her head.

"We'll swap places," he said, and Lily scrunched her nose

"Neither one of them is any better," she sighed, and James nodded

"So we're both going to be in hell for the next few hours," he sighed dramatically, and Lily laughed.

"Now Prongsie-pie that just hurts my feelings!" Sirius said dramatically, walking over to them and clapping his hand over his heart.

"Sirius, no bloke enjoys shopping," Remus grumbled, walking over to them.

"It's a rule of life," James added, and Sirius snorted.

"Well, when you get married, then you'll have to go with your wife for shopping and stuff and _then _you'll thank me," he said, and winked at Lily, who flushed.

"Lily," Alice said, walking over to them and holding her hand out, "You coming?"

"Do I have a choice?" Lily asked, and Alice grinned, shaking her head, "Goodbye," she said to James, who laughed and kissed her forehead.

"See you at seven," he said, and Lily nodded. She took Alice's hand and vanished on the spot. Seven; the Order meeting. That was going to be interesting.

Lily landed in a building, which did not look familiar at all. It was bustling with people and there were papers flying everywhere.

This was the infamous _Daily Prophet _headquarters.

Alice led her to an information desk, "Excuse me do you know where I could find Hestia Jones?" she asked the lady behind the counter, who nodded.

"She's in Skeeter's office, third door to the left," she said, gesturing down the hallway. The girls smiled their thanks and walked in that direction, counting the doors. They reached a door that had the word _Skeeter _on it, and pushed it open. A blonde woman, who smelled like a muggle perfume department, walked out, chewing gum, with her blonde hair up in curls, wearing what looked like 12-inch heels and clothes so tight Lily was scared she might faint at any second. The tacky lady turned to look at them through her large red glasses, which matched her obnoxious red lipstick, and smiled. Lily almost laughed as she noticed that her teeth had lipstick on them.

"Hello deary, I'm Rita Skeeter, surely you've heard of me, what can I do for you?" she asked in a high, irritating voice, sauntering over to them, shaking her hips as if there was no tomorrow.

"We're looking for Hestia Jones?" Lily said, and the woman nodded.

"This way," she said, and they followed her. Lily watched as Rita Skeeter winked suggestively at every person walking by, and turned to look at Alice fearfully, who was watching the woman in disgust, "Hestia!"

"Yes, Ms. Skeeter?" they heard Hestia's voice.

"You have visitors." Hestia walked over to them, dressed in a purple pencil skirt, and a black blouse, and squealed as she saw whom it was.

"Hello!" she said happily, hugging Alice, and then Lily, "What are you doing here?"

"We've come to take you away," Alice said sternly, "Ms. Skeeter, would it be alright with you if I took Hestia away? She's helping me plan my wedding," Alice said, and Rita smiled.

"Of course sweetheart," she said with a large grin, and Lily shuddered. Hestia grabbed her belongings and then the three of them disapparated.

"What a cow," Hestia muttered when they'd landed, and Lily giggled.

"You weren't even exaggerating, that was terrible!" Lily laughed, and Hestia nodded vigorously.

"I was afraid," Alice said, and the girls laughed, following her up to her bedroom. Lily saw a large portrait of Alice's father, who threw them all large smiles, and felt her stomach drop. She still couldn't believe he was gone.

"Where's your mum?" Lily asked curiously, looking around for Alice's mother. Alice was an only child.

"Mum's probably at her friends house, she's always there these days," Alice said, and they entered her room, "So we're doing the invitations," Alice said, and Lily groaned as she saw the large stack of papers.

"By hand?" Hestia whimpered, and Alice nodded grimly.

"Sadly. Let's go," Alice said, separating the stacks of paper into three piles. Lily sighed and sat down, getting out a muggle pen.

* * *

"I like this!" Sirius yelled happily from the other side of the store. Remus and James were standing far away from Sirius, and were passing the time by playing a game of identifying the things they'd least want in their house. They grumbled and walked over to Sirius, who had been doing all the shopping without their input, and looked down at what he was pointing at.

"Wow," James said, looking down at the large black leather couch. It was the epitome of manliness. It spoke bachelor pad.

"I want," Remus said, looking down at the couch

"And you say I'm a girl," Sirius scoffed, and turned to the nice lady who was following them around the store, "This one!" he said happily, and she grinned at him, waving her wand, and the couch disappeared before jotting down the price of the sofa.

Sirius grinned happily and walked over to the carpets, because Merlin forbid men didn't have carpets in their houses. James was momentarily jealous of Lily and Hestia's flat, which had beautiful marble floors, and wooden floors in the bedrooms, so you wouldn't want carpets anyway. Lily, however, had put a fluffy rug, which engulfed your toes if you stepped on it, in her room. But that was completely different. It was cool.

"I think that's the only thing I've actually cared enough to ogle at," Remus muttered, and James guffawed, agreeing.

"PRONGS! MOONY!" James and Remus sighed, and walked slowly off in Sirius's direction.

"So sorry about him," Remus said politely to the lady, who laughed.

"Not a problem. We had a woman in here a few days ago that spent twenty minutes deciding between two lampshades," she chuckled, and James grinned.

"Was she with a redhead?" he asked, and the woman's eyebrows rose, surprised, and she nodded, "Yeah, that would be his girlfriend," he said, nodding towards Sirius, and the woman laughed.

"Figures," she said good-naturedly, and walked quickly to see what Sirius was pointing at.

"Lampshades? Poor Lily," Remus chuckled, and James nodded. He'd heard all about it from Lily that morning before Auror Academy, after he'd mentioned that he was going to go shopping for the flat.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Sirius asked excitedly, looking down at the crimson, flat, rug, which would probably take up most of their living room.

"It's very Gryffindor," Remus said, and Sirius nodded excitedly.

"I want it!" he said, and the two boys shrugged. If it looked bad, it was going in Sirius's room, "Yay!" he said happily. The lady waved her wand and Sirius smiled, satisfied, "Now we are done," he declared.

"Probably because there's nothing left in the store," Remus muttered as Sirius skipped, yes, skipped, to the counter to pay up, "Prongs are you alright?" Remus asked worriedly. James had been blanking out and frowning a lot during their shopping time.

"Sorry mate," James sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"What's wrong?"

"The Avada Kedavra thing," he said, and Remus winced slightly.

"That was terrible," he agreed, and then looked at James's face, "Is it the lily?" he asked, and James winced, confirming Remus's thoughts, "It was just a flower," he said quietly, and James turned to glare at him.

"That's not the point! It couldn't have been pure coincidence that it was a _lily_ that was killed, and it landed on _my _desk of all things. It's a sign! This is too dangerous for her! She's going to get hurt! What would I do if she got hurt? Or, Merlin forbid, what would happen if she got killed?" he asked, and Remus looked at him sympathetically. James loved Lily so much it was almost painful to even imagine James having to deal with her dying. It would destroy him.

"Mate, it was just a coincidence. Lily's the most talented person I know, and she, like Moody says, is constantly vigilant," Remus said, and James cracked a smile, "She will be fine. She will not die. Sure, she might get hurt a little, what, a scratch or a cut, but that's not so bad, is it? You get them almost every class," Remus said, and James sighed, giving in. Remus was right, "She will be okay, don't look too much into it. It was a bloody flower," Remus declared sternly, and James nodded, "Now, let's go face that one," Remus said, nodding towards Sirius, who was jumping up and down happily as he paid. James laughed and put his arm around Remus's shoulders.

"So, when's full moon?" James asked, and Remus's nose scrunched.

"25th I think," he said, and James nodded, "Oh Merlin! What's the date today?" he asked, and James frowned.

"Er, I think it's the 1st."

"Oh, never mind," he said. James opened his mouth to ask, but just that second, Sirius walked over to them, grabbed them, and disapparated.

* * *

"Finito!" Hestia yelled, as she finally sat up from the invitations three hours later. She stretched out her back and looked over to see Lily lying on her back, "Are you done?" she asked, and Lily nodded. Alice finished a minute later, and grinned at her friends.

"Thank you," she said genuinely, and they smiled at her. How could you not? She was so happy, "I cant believe I'm getting married in 17 days!" she squealed.

"17? Only?" Hestia asked, and Alice rolled her eyes, before nodding, "That's so soon! How did that happen so quickly?" she asked, and Alice shrugged happily.

"What time is it?" Lily asked, and Alice scrambled over to her desk.

"It's 6:50."

"Merlin!" Lily yelled, standing up much to everyone's alarm, "We have the Order meeting in ten minutes!" The other twos eyes widened and they jumped up.

"Can we go like this?" they asked, looking down at their clothes, and Lily shrugged.

"It shouldn't be too big a deal what you wear," she said, and they nodded. Lily was in full-length tights and a large maroon shirt that had elastic on the bottom, pinching it in, right underneath her bum. She couldn't be bothered to change. Since Hestia hadn't said anything, she figured she looked okay.

"Should we go now?" Alice asked, and Lily nodded.

"Might as well," she said, and they all nodded. They looked at the address one last time, before concentrating on it, and disapparating.

* * *

"Finito!" Sirius announced, looking proudly around at the living room. James and Remus had blatantly refused to move the furniture manually, and they had arranged the whole house with their wands. James looked at it proudly as well. It was macho. Remus walked out of the dining area, which he had been arranging, and nodded his approval.

"When do we move in?" Remus asked, looking around his fully furnished living room.

"I'm ready to move in right now," Sirius said, and then turned to look at the other two.

"Same," Remus said, and then the two of them turned to look at James.

"I'll move in tomorrow night," he said, and the other two shrugged. James needed another day at the Potter Mansion with his parents before moving, it was understandable.

"Well we'll move today," Sirius said, gesturing to himself and Remus, who nodded, "And you can come tomorrow."

"Alright," James nodded, and they all grinned. James looked down at his watch and jumped, "Merlin! We have to go, the meeting is in 10 minutes!" they all yelped and closed their eyes, disapparating.

* * *

Lily opened her eyes and saw a house. None of the magical folk surrounding them seemed to be able to see it. She knew they were in a magical area because there were little children flying around on broomsticks that levitated a few feet off the ground. She watched a little child, no older than two, sat on the ground, holding a wand and prodding at a snail, which was growing rapidly. The child's mother squealed and walked over, confiscating the wand, and looking sternly down at the grinning child. Lily giggled and then looked forward.

"Why can't anyone see it?" Hestia asked.

"Probably a Fidleus charm," Lily said, and the other two nodded. They walked towards the house and walked inside. The inside was not elegant, but wasn't shabby either. It looked like it had been lived in, which it probably had. They walked towards the only room with a light on, and entered to see a large oval table, with lots of people milling around the room, "Arthur!" Lily squealed, running over to the red headed man. He turned around and grinned as he noticed whom it was

"Lily Evans!" he said happily, hugging her, and Lily grinned.

"How are you?" she asked, "I heard you got married?"

"Yep," he said, flushing slightly, "And we've already had Bill," he said, and Lily's eyes widened.

"You're a father?" she squealed, and he nodded happily, "Where's Molly? And Bill?"

"They stayed home," he said, "Bill's still too young to be quiet," he chuckled, and Lily grinned, "Alice Prewett, what is that on your finger?" he asked, eyes wide, walking over to Alice, who laughed and hugged him. Lily looked around and smiled politely at the witches and wizards she made eye contact with. Awkward.

"MINERVA!" she jumped and turned to see Sirius, Remus and James walking in, and Sirius running jauntily over to McGonagall, who jumped violently.

"Mr. Black?" she asked, confusedly. Sirius slammed into her and swung her around happily. McGonagall smiled stiffly, eying all the people who were watching them, and hugged Sirius awkwardly, and he put her down, "It's nice to see you," she smiled, "How have you been?" Lily giggled as Hestia rolled her eyes, walking over to Sirius, who was talking extremely exuberantly, and turned to see James and Remus walking in her direction.

"Hello," James said, walking over to Lily. Lily smiled and walked over to him, twirling her fingers through his. She grinned at Remus, who smiled back happily. Gideon and Fabian were already there, and they hurried over to them.

"Bloody hell, we've been here for ages. So awkward," Fabian said, running his hand through his hair, and Lily laughed.

"Oh shut it red," Gideon said, and then turned to talk to Remus. Lily laughed and looked up at James.

"How was shopping?" she asked, and James groaned, causing her to laugh.

"How was wedding stuff?" he asked, and Lily dropped her head onto his shoulder.

"Where are your parents?" she asked suddenly, looking around.

"Oh, they said they weren't coming. It was a busy day today apparently," he said, and Lily's eyes widened.

"What happened?"

"They said Dumbledore would talk about it," he said, shrugging.

Just then, Dumbledore walked in, and everyone scrambled into seats. They all followed, grabbing the seats closest to them, and looked at Dumbledore expectantly. Dumbledore smiled at the graduates, and then turned to address the room as a whole.

"Thank you all for coming today. Another few weeks have passed just as darkly, if not worse. Today, the Death Eaters struck again," he said gravely, and Lily turned to look at James, who was paying rapt attention, "Three muggle families were found dead in their homes," he said sadly, and Lily felt her stomach clench, "The relatives of the victims were informed that it was one of their own criminals, but Aurors, members of the Order, have confirmed to me that it was the Avada Kedavra," Dumbledore paused, and Lily felt James take her hand and squeeze her fingers, and she squeezed back, "The Death Eaters are getting more active," he said, "And we need to be able to protect those around us. In order to do this, we're going to need people to, as you would say, spy, on the Death Eaters," he said, "I am not going to force this upon any one of you, it requires volunteers. It is dangerous, and there is a possibility you will not make it out," he said, looking around at everyone to get the message across.

"I'll do it," Lily felt James's hand slip out of hers as he stood up. She turned to look at him with wide eyes, but he was looking, jaw clenched, at Dumbledore, who regarded him solemnly.

"Me too," Sirius said, standing up as he saw his best mate stand. He wasn't going to let James go by himself. Hestia whimpered and looked up at Sirius, who was looking at James.

"Thank you James, Sirius," Dumbledore said, and the two boys sat down. Lily glared at James, who didn't even look at her.

_HOW DARE HE!_

She looked across at Hestia, who was pale as she looked at Sirius, who wasn't looking at her either. The meeting went on, Dumbledore discussing the Death Eaters, and what they had done, and, now that they had their spies, they would be better capable of protecting the wizarding world. The meeting ended, and as soon as Dumbledore dismissed, them, Lily stood up and disapparated. James looked at the spot she had just been standing in, and then looked over at Sirius, who was holding Hestia's shoulders.

"I'll be okay," Sirius said soothingly, and Hestia glared up at him.

"Bollocks! You're not even a fully trained Auror and you're going to bloody _spy_? On _real _Death Eaters?" she hissed, and Sirius had the decency to look slightly abashed.

"Hest,"

"No!" she said fiercely, cutting across him, "You're not in school anymore! You're not dueling with Slytherins! These are real Death Eaters, that are _trying to kill you!" _she hissed, shrugging Sirius's arms off her shoulders. Sirius looked down at her and opened his mouth to answer. Before he could get anything out, Hestia had disapparated as well.

Hestia landed in her flat to hear banging. She ran towards the source to see Lily sitting in the television room watching The A-Team loudly. Lily turned fiercely, expecting James, but saw that it was Hestia, and sighed. Hestia sat down next to Lily and took her hand.

"They're idiots," Lily said in a choked voice. Hestia nodded and leaned her head on her best friend's shoulder, "They're not even fully trained bloody Aurors! They can't dodge jinxes, _harmless jinxes, _in class, and get cuts all over themselves, and they think they can take on _real _Death Eaters?" she hissed, and Hestia nodded her agreement.

"Idiots," she sighed, and Lily wiped her eyes.

"What if they get hurt? What if, Merlin forbid, he dies?" Lily asked, tears of anger and fear escaping her eyes.

"We still have them," Hestia said, gesturing to the attractive guys that were running on the television, and Lily chuckled slightly.

"Of course," she said, wiping her face, and Hestia nudged her shoulder.

"We'll always have each other, no matter what those bloody fools do," Hestia said confidently, and Lily nodded, "And nothing is going to change that." Lily leaned her head on Hestia's shoulder.

"What if they die?" she whispered, and Hestia closed her eyes.

"They wont," she said fiercely, and Lily looked up at her best friend, who was about to cry.

"Hey, 'till death does us apart," Lily said, holding her hand out, an offer, and Hestia grinned.

"I think James would kill me," she said cheekily, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"He's Potter right now," she grumbled, and Hestia smiled, "And the other one is Black."

"Yes, he is," said Hestia sternly. There was a pop and they turned to see the devils themselves standing in the doorway, watching the girls warily. Lily and Hestia glared at their boyfriends, looked at each other, and turned back to the TV. Hestia grabbed the remote and turned the volume up all the way, so that Lily could feel the sofa moving from the sound waves.

The boys looked at each other, and Sirius walked inside to turn off the TV.

"What are you doing?" Hestia hissed at her boyfriend, who flinched slightly.

"We wanted to talk to you two," he said, gesturing to himself and James. James looked at Lily, who looked away from him quickly, and pushed herself off the sofa. She walked pushed past Sirius, and walked around James, and slammed the door of her bedroom behind her. James winced slightly, and then followed after her.

"Hest," Sirius said gently, and Hestia looked down at her fingernails. Her nail polish was chipping, she would have to re-do that, "Hest, look at me," he said. Hestia ignored him and conjured up a nail file, and began to fix her nails, which were looking bumpy around the edges. Couldn't have that.

Sirius looked down at his beautiful girlfriend, whose chocolate hair was falling in waves, ending in curls on her shoulders, whose jaw was clenched, whose eyes were slightly red, in her black pencil skirt and black blouse, which only showed above her waist, and bit his lip.

He wasn't good at this stuff, he knew it; he had never been good with the awkward conversations. It was probably why he had never had a real girlfriend before the girl sitting in front of him. He took a deep breath and sat down next to Hestia. She didn't react, except moved on to the next fingernail.

"Hestia," he said earnestly, and she huffed. She put down her nail file, but continued to look into her lap. _That's as good as it's going to get,_ Sirius sighed internally, before clearing his throat, "Look, I know you're angry," he started.

"Angry?" she hissed, turning to look at him, her usually friendly and open eyes, extremely harsh, "_Angry?" _

"Yes, I know, understatement of the decade," he said, and Hestia's mouth twitched. Damn him for making her laugh. Sirius noticed and smiled slightly, "I know you're angry, and I know you're worried, but, you have to believe me. I will be fine," he said, and Hestia's eyes filled with tears, threatening to overflow.

"What if you aren't?" she choked, and turned to look away from him at the wall behind the television, "Sirius, you could get _hurt_. This isn't like at Hogwarts when you dueled Slytherins in the corridors. You could _die_," her voice broke, and Sirius pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Hestia felt the lump in her throat grow to extreme sizes, and a sob escaped her.

"I'm not going to die," he said fiercely, "Do you know why?" he asked, and Hestia shook her head, bringing her hand up to her face to wipe the tears away, "Because I couldn't leave Minerva like this," he said, and Hestia burst out laughing. Sirius chuckled, patting her hair soothingly, "But in all honesty, if I didn't think I could make it out alive, I wouldn't have taken it," he said, and Hestia nodded, "I wouldn't leave you like that," he said quietly, and kissed the top of her head.

"I hate you," she grumbled, snuggling into his chest, and Sirius chuckled. Hestia reached over for the remote, and switched the TV back on.

* * *

"Lily," James said, pushing Lily's door open. Lily was sitting underneath her window, a red pillow in her lap, looking at the sky. Lily didn't respond as James said her name, but he saw her grip on the pillow tighten. He walked over to her and sat down in front of her, looking at her face.

She had cried, that much was obvious. James ran his hand through his hair, messing it up, looking down at the cushion they were sitting on, "Lils," he said gently.

"What?" she snapped.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, and Lily turned to look at him, and James saw that her eyes were shocked.

"What?" she asked, her voice and expression devoid of all anger. She had forgotten due to her shock.

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Why?" she asked, bewildered, and James chuckled, "Shut up," she said, re-clenching her jaw, and turning away from him.

"I'm sorry I did that to you," he said, "But Lils, I'm not sorry for volunteering," he said, "I don't like people dying Lils, and if I can put a stop to that, I'm going to," he finished clearly, and Lily turned to look at him. As usual, James found himself lost in her green eyes. They were so _green_!

"Why are you sorry you did that to me?" she challenged, and James frowned.

"What?"

"Well, how do I know you aren't just telling me what I want to hear?" she asked fiercely, and James sighed. He had expected her to be like this.

"Because Lils, if you had volunteered, I would have body-binded you on the spot, told Dumbledore you weren't feeling well, brought you back here, put an anti-apparating charm on the place, and you would spend the rest of your life locked up in here so I could make sure you didn't go out and fight the bad guys," he said. Lily looked at him, mouth slightly agape, momentarily shocked at the realness of the scenario he had painted out, and started to laugh.

"You're impossible," she sighed, once she was done laughing, looking up into James's grinning eyes, "If you're not careful, I will curse you so hard it will make the Death Eaters look tame," she said fiercely, and James nodded, "And if you get yourself killed, James Potter, I will bring you back to life just to kill you again." James grinned at her and Lily rolled her eyes.

"I love you too Lils," he said cheerfully, and Lily huffed. She pushed herself off the ledge and sat down in James's lap.

"How dare you do that," she mumbled, flicking his forehead, and James grinned, ignoring the slight sting, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, kissing her temple.

"I don't accept your apology," she said sternly.

"Will you ever?" he asked, amused, and Lily bit her lip

"We'll see," she finally said, and James chuckled, "I mean it Potter," she said sternly, turning to look into his eyes, "If you get as much as a scratch," she started.

"I'll snap my broom," he said quickly, and Lily gasped.

"That's a bit extreme," she said incredulously, and James guffawed, "I was going to say I wouldn't talk to you until it healed, the natural way," she said, and James winced.

"That's worse, I'd rather snap my broom," he said, and Lily grinned, "Wipe that grin off your face Evans." Lily giggled and leaned on James's shoulder.

"Good night James," she breathed, closing her eyes.

"Lils, I can't sleep like this," he squeaked.

"Learn," she smirked, eyes still closed, and James chuckled. Lily didn't move, and James began to shake his legs.

"I have to go home," he whined, and Lily huffed. She couldn't even _pretend _to sleep with him shaking like that.

"Fine, choose your parents over me," she said in a mock-irritated tone, and got off James. He grinned and kissed her cheek quickly.

"So, we're okay?" he asked, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Go home James," she said. James grinned happily and disapparated.

* * *

James and Sirius tiptoed to where Dumbledore said the Death Eaters were. It had been two weeks since the Order meeting, and Alice's wedding was the next day. Lily and Hestia had kissed them both goodbye, and had reminded them to be careful. It was dangerous business, and ever since the boys had left, Lily and Hestia had been sitting, with the television on, not really watching, waiting for their boys to come home.

Emily and Daniel were extremely worried. They supported what Lily had said. They _were _just two teenage boys, who weren't even fully trained Aurors, who got hurt every time they went to Academy.

"Prongs," Sirius whispered. James turned to look at his friend, who was pointing towards a door. James nodded and the two crept over to the door, where a stream of light was pouring out onto the gravel road where the boys had been. They were under the cloak, which couldn't be summoned or blasted off (Lily had tried), and they also couldn't be jinxed under (Lily tried that also), so they were feeling relatively safe.

The boys tiptoed over to the door, and pressed their ears up against it. The voices were so clear, James jumped and made sure they weren't standing next to them.

"What did you do _today _Bellatrix?" A familiar voice asked, and James looked at Sirius, whose eyes had widened, 'Avery?' he mouthed, and Sirius nodded.

"The Dark Lord would be proud"

"What did she do?"

"Slaughtered two mudbloods," A male voice answered, which James only assumed was Bellatrix's husband. Sirius and James looked at each other, and Sirius pressed his finger to his mouth. James had to mentally remind himself that Lily was alive.

"What else is new," Avery snorted.

"What did _you _do then Avery?" Bellatrix sneered.

"I have information,"

"Information?"

"I went scouting in the Ministry, made myself useful."

"Excellent," a high clear voice sounded around, and James felt his hairs stand on end. Voldemort was a few feet away from them. James felt the urge to pull his wand out and murder the wanker. He had, after all, murdered James's little sister, and countless others. James restrained himself; he had to get back to Lily. "Tell us, what did you learn?"

"My Lord," Avery's voice suddenly went formal, as well as fearful, "My Lord, the Aurors have figured out it was Bellatrix." There was a hiss, which James assumed came from Bellatrix herself.

"Pity," Voldemort said, but James noticed how he didn't seem to convey his pity in his voice, but seemed to have just said the word for the sake of saying it, "Bella, you will have to stay put for a time. I cannot have you in Azkaban," he said, and James heard a purr, which he assumed had issued from Bellatrix.

"Of course My Lord," she said in a breathless voice, and James saw Sirius gag, and had to bite back a laugh.

"You will have to go Malfoy,"

"Of course My Lord," a response came.

"What else have you learned?"

"The Order had a meeting two weeks ago." Sirius and James felt their stomachs flip. Had Avery been spying? "However, the two whom I heard discussing this did not speak of what they discussed as they were promptly silenced. James looked at Sirius with wide eyes. They had been discussing the Order, and Lily had slapped the backs of their heads, telling them to shut up. Sirius shifted his weight uncomfortably, and a twig cracked.

"What was that?" Voldemort asked, "You," there was a squeak, "Go check." Footsteps sounded, and they saw the doorknob twist. James grabbed Sirius's arm quickly, and disapparated before the person could walk out.

"No-one here My Lord," a voice squeaked, the owner of the voice looking around with mousy eyes.

"Come back in here Wormtail"

* * *

"James!" Lily yelled, relieved, as the two boys appeared before them, James tucking the cloak into his robes. Lily threw her arms around James and her shoulders, which had been stiff the whole evening, dropped slightly. James wrapped his arm around her waist, and kissed her hair, closing his eyes as he inhaled the smell of orchids, "Oh thank Merlin," Lily sighed, and leaned up to kiss James's cheek, "Are you alright? Hurt at all?" she asked, her eyes scanning his face, before moving around at all the skin she could see. James chuckled and shook his head, "Good boy," she grinned, and kissed his cheek again.

Sirius and Hestia, who had been having a similar reunion, turned to face Lily as she started to push them all into the living room. She pushed the boys down onto the sofa and looked at them, examining their faces, looking for cuts and scratches.

"We're fine Lily-flower," Sirius chuckled, and hugged Lily. Lily hugged him back before breathing out. Hestia had gone to her room, no doubt to cry relieved tears.

"So?" she asked quietly, and they boys sighed.

"Not much to report," said Sirius, as Hestia walked out and sat down next to Lily on the coffee table, "We had to Disapparate before we could hear any _real _information," he said, and the girls frowned.

"Why?" Lily asked, looking at James, who nudged Sirius, who was flushing.

"Padfoot here stepped on a twig and Voldemort sent someone to come see who was there," he chuckled, and the girls turned to narrow their eyes at Sirius.

"What if they had found you?" Hestia asked irritably.

"We were under the cloak," Sirius pointed out, and Hestia huffed, crossing her arms.

"Well what _did _you hear?" Lily asked.

"They have a spy at the Ministry," James said, and the girls looked at him with shocked expressions.

"Who?" Hestia asked

"Avery," James said darkly, and Lily paled, remembering what had happened that night at Hogwarts, which only Remus knew about, seeing as he had been there.

"He's working in the Department of Mysteries," Lily squeaked, and they all turned to look at her, bewildered, "I saw his name on the list today," she said, and James bit his lip.

"You should tell Dumbledore," Hestia said, and Lily nodded, agreeing with her best friend. The boys sighed and stood up.

"See you tomorrow," Sirius said, kissing Hestia's forehead.

"Why?" Lily asked, and the two boys snorted.

"It's Alice's wedding?" James suggested, and Lily flushed.

"I knew that," she said, embarrassed, and the boys laughed. James kissed her forehead, inhaling her scent again, before pulling away.

"See you tomorrow," he said quietly, and Lily grinned at him.

"Oh, James," she said, and he turned to look at her, "I accept your apology now," she grinned, and James laughed, before the two boys disapparated, landing in Hogsmeade.

"They're okay," Hestia said, relieved, and then walked into the kitchen.

"Hest, where are you going?" Lily asked, and Hestia came out, holding two bottles of Butterbeer.

"I was worried," she said, handing Lily a bottle. Lily grinned and followed Hestia back to the TV room, and the two began watching a movie Lily had found, called _Parent Trap. _

* * *

James arrived at the Marauders flat a split second before Sirius after their discussion with Dumbledore, who had left to send a letter to the Minster. After relieved hugs from Remus, and Peter who was avoiding eye contact with them for some reason, and after bidding them all goodnight, he walked into his bedroom. He closed the door behind him and pulled off his shirt, which was covered in sweat. He threw it into the laundry basket, and turned towards his closet, when he saw a letter lying neatly on his desk. He walked over to it. There was no envelope. He picked it up and unfolded it. He gasped, and dropped the letter, backing up a few steps and sitting down on the edge of the bed, holding his head in his hands. The letter lay open on the floor.

_I know you were there James Potter, and because of that, you'll have to be careful I don't find that mudblood of yours, Lily Evans._

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Hope you liked the chapter (:**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	6. Burned

**Hello everybody! So, lots of you people have said this story makes your day. Well, reading your reviews makes MINE, so let's scratch each other's backs shall we? (: haha**

**Cheri- OMG IM SO GLAD YOU'RE OKAY (:**

**haryyginnyypotter- that would be awesome (: but it'd be easier to be email pals because my letter service here is screwed up. Email me, yeah? It's rikaniha_ **

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Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of thinking up new ways to respond to this. It's hurting my brain. Okay, so, er, no I don't own Harry Potter, but in my mind I am dating Sirius Black and James Potter.**

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Previously:**_

_I know you were there James Potter, and because of that, you'll have to be careful I don't find that mudblood of yours, Lily Evans._

* * *

"Lily!"

"What?"

"Help me!"

"Wait!"

"No, we're late!"

"I know! Give me a minute"

"Lily!"

"Hestia shut up!"

"LILY I AM EXPOSED HERE!" Hestia shrieked, barging into Lily's room, the zip of her dress all the way down. Sirius and James were sitting in the living room, listening to their girlfriend's fight, amused. James had been fidgeting the whole day, which had been bothering Sirius.

"Hestia! It's just your bloody sucker! Go ask them to do it! I'm trying to do other _more important _stuff!" Hestia huffed and walked out of Lily's room into the living room. Sirius looked her up and down and grinned.

Hestia was dressed in orange, of course. It was a knee length dress, with ruffles at the bottom, making it look oddly nice, and had thick spaghetti straps holding it up, the neckline curving around her chest. Hestia flushed as Sirius grinned at her and then crossed her arms.

"Can you do up my sucker?" she asked irritably. Sirius chuckled and stood up, walking behind her, "I would have turned around," she said, as Sirius almost pounced on her.

"Yes, but I don't want Prongs ogling my girlfriend," he said cheekily, winking at James, who snorted.

"No offence Hest," he added quickly, and Hestia laughed.

"None taken," she said. Sirius zipped her dress up incredibly slowly, and then placed his hands on her shoulders gently.

"Nice dress," he grinned, and Hestia flushed. She shrugged out from under Sirius's hands and started to walk back to Lily's room, "What's Lily-flower doing?" Sirius asked, and Hestia grinned.

"She's wrestling with the shoes," Hestia grinned, waving her foot around. James looked down at them and grinned. They were high heels, which had straps wrapping around up until Hestia's knee, "I'm going to go put her out of her misery," Hestia sighed, and skipped over to Lily's room. She walked in to see Lily, completely dressed, looking in the mirror.

"Does this look okay?" Lily asked, turning to her side and eying herself in the mirror. Her dress was exactly like Hestia's; only it was olive green. Her hair was back up in her signature elegant knot, and her face looked beautiful.

"It does," Hestia smiled, and Lily grinned happily, "I see you got the shoes on," Hestia giggled, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Alice is evil," Lily grumbled, and Hestia shrugged. She liked them.

"Shall we?" Hestia asked, and Lily held up a finger.

"Wait," she said. She ran over to her dresser and pulled out the locket James had given her, and put it on. It fit perfectly with the cut of the dress. She smiled at herself in the mirror, before following Hestia out. The girls walked out and James felt his heart clench as he looked at Lily.

"You look beautiful," he breathed, walking over to her and smiling down at her. Lily grinned up at him and James's eyes focused on the locket around her neck. He grinned happily, and then remembered the note he had received. He felt his throat clog as he looked at Lily, who was laughing at something Sirius had said.

"Okay, we are going," declared Sirius. He waved at them, before turning on the spot, holding Hestia's hand. Lily turned to James, whose eyes were burning.

"What's wrong?" she asked gently, and James snapped out of it. He grinned down at her and shook his head.

"Nothing," he said in a squeaky voice, and Lily's eyebrows rose, "Shall we?" he asked, offering her his arm. Lily took it and was pulled into the unknown by James.

* * *

"WHERE, THE HELL, WERE YOU TWO?" Alice bellowed, as the two girls rushed into her dressing room. Alice was wearing a slip, and her heels. Gwenog was at the mirror putting on her makeup, wearing the same dress as Lily and Hestia, only hers was red. She grinned over at her two friends, who smiled back at her. To be honest, the two of them had grown apart from Gwenog. Alice was the only one who hadn't.

"Sorry, sorry. The boys," Lily offered as an explanation, and Alice nodded, before turning around. Lily winked at Hestia, who giggled. Blame it on the boys; it always works.

"So?" Gwenog said, turning around, and looking at Alice, "As much as people would love for you to walk down the aisle like that," she said, and Alice flushed, "I think we should get your dress on," she grinned. Lily and Hestia laughed, and walked over to help with the dress.

"Oh Merlin you're here!" Alice's mum squealed, barging into the room. She hugged the two girls, before turning to Alice, "Honestly sweetie, you're getting married in 15 minutes and you're still in your lingerie?" she sighed, exasperated, and Alice grinned.

They spent about seven minutes maneuvering the dress slowly as not to damage Alice's hair or makeup. Once it was finally on, Lily felt tears in her eyes. Alice looked extravagant. There was a knock on the door and Alice's godfather, her mother's brother, walked in. He smiled at the other girls whom he'd never met before and then walked over to Alice.

"You look amazing," he said happily, scared to hug her.

"I cant believe you're getting married," her mother said, her eyes filling with tears. The other girls took that as their cue to leave, and walked out of the room swiftly.

* * *

"Er, guys?" James said awkwardly, as him, Sirius and Remus stood at the beginning of the aisle.

"Yesss?" Sirius said, turning to James, who chuckled. Remus turned, ignoring Sirius altogether for previously making an inappropriate comment about Tonks, and looked at James.

"I have a problem," he said quietly. The other two looked at him curiously and took a step towards their best mate.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked. James pulled the letter Voldemort had sent him the previous night out of the pocket of his dress robes, and handed it to his mates. They both read it and groaned.

"How did he know?" Sirius asked, and James shook his head.

"I think…" James took a deep breath, and looked down at the floor, "I think I have to let go of her," he choked out. The other two looked at him with wide eyes.

"Mate you don't have to do that," Sirius said, shaking his head back and forth.

"But I do! He wont let it go until I'm not with her! He's only threatening to hurt her because she's dating me!" he whispered, his eyes glazing over with tears.

"It doesn't say that," Remus said, but his voice layered with bitter acceptance.

"But it does!" James said. A tear escaped the corner of his eye, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand, "I don't see any other way, that is, if I want her to stay alive," he whispered. The other two looked down at the letter and felt their hearts sink.

"When are you going to do it?" Sirius choked out. When they broke up, Sirius and Remus would be on James's side, and Hestia would be on Lily's. It would tear their whole group apart. James just coughed and looked up at the ceiling.

"I don't know if I can," he whispered, and Remus shook his head.

"We'll think about it later," Remus said sternly, "You cant do it now, it's Alice and Frank's wedding. We're going to enjoy this wedding, and we will worry about this later," he declared, and they looked at him questioningly.

"Translation, the girls are here," Sirius said, as he saw Gwenog, Hestia and Lily approach them. James chuckled and Sirius waved his wand, clearing the redness out of James's eyes so nobody would see. James grinned at him gratefully and Sirius shook his head. Hestia twirled over to Sirius and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hello," she said cheerfully, and Sirius barked a laugh. Remus and Sirius watched sadly as Lily skipped over to James and threw her arms around his neck, grinning up at him. Sirius saw James's face pucker slightly, and yelled out.

"What?" Gwenog asked, her hand on her heart.

"Sorry, my, er, cheek cramped," he said, and Remus rolled his eyes.

"Your cheek?" Lily teased, "I wasn't aware your cheeks could cramp"

"Wrong type of cheek," Sirius winked, and Lily flushed. She turned away from Sirius and linked her elbow through James's as they all laughed.

"Ready?" they all turned as Alice's mother came up behind them. They all scrambled into line; Lily and James, followed by Hestia and Sirius, and then Gwenog and Remus, "Let's go," she said. She waved her wand and the music started. She walked calmly over to her seat and sat down. Frank was standing at the end of the aisle, grinning widely. Lily winked at him, and Frank gave her thumbs up.

As they walked down the aisle, James looked down at Lily. He'd probably never get to walk down the aisle with her. Thanks to Voldemort. He watched as she smiled, and then she turned to look up at him, and James felt the urge to cry once more. How was he going to get through this? How was he going to break up with her?

_If you want her alive, you'll do it_, an irritating voice in his head said, and James sighed. It was right. He would do it, because he didn't want anything happening to Lily. It was as simple as that.

They reached the end of the aisle, and let go of each other, walking to their assigned spots. Hestia and Sirius joined them quickly. Gwenog and Remus followed suite. The tune changed and Alice came floating down the aisle. Lily grinned at her. She looked over at Frank, as she had at her sister's wedding, and almost cried looking at the pure joy on his face.

She hoped, someday, she would be able to see James's face lit up like that as she walked down the aisle.

* * *

"Congratulations!" Lily squealed, hugging Alice and Frank during the reception ceremony. Alice hugged her back, grinning like a fool. Lily was knocked out of the way by a woman who was waiting behind her to greet the happy couple. She stumbled over to a table, where she could see James discussing something with Sirius and Remus. The subject changed quickly as she sat down, "What were you talking about?" she teased, and they all grinned at her nervously.

"Nothing," James said, and then stood up, "Dance?" he asked. Lily sighed and shook her head.

"My feet hurt! Bloody shoes," she muttered, and the three boys chuckled.

"Dancing will get your mind off them," James said, and Lily sighed, giving in. She took James's hand and let him lead her on to the dance floor.

"You know I still can't dance," she grinned, and James laughed. The song changed to slow as soon as he touched her hand, and he grinned.

"I know you can do _this_," he said, pulling her to him, and Lily laughed.

"Of course I can, we got together doing this didn't we?" she giggled, and James's stomach flipped. He pulled her closer to him and smiled down at her.

"It's a bit hazy to me, you'll have to remind me," he said in a mock serious tone, and Lily gasped.

"Well, I don't know if I can do that, it was a long time ago you see," she said, matching his tone, and James chuckled.

"Well, from what I remember there was a kiss involved," he said, and Lily frowned

"I don't remember that," she said, and James growled lightly. Lily grinned up at him and rested her forehead against his chest, "I'm going to miss you," she sighed, and James looked down at her with wide eyes.

"What?" he asked. Had she overheard what they had been talking about?

"Sorry, that came out wrong," she grinned, looking back up into his eyes, and James stomach clenched, "I mean, after I go home today, I'm going to miss you. We did spend the whole day together," she pointed out, "And then we used to _live _in the same place," she continued. James cut her off by leaning down and gently pressing his lips to hers. He wiped away his tears when her eyes closed.

"Then again, you could stay over," she said slightly awkwardly, and James's stomach flipped.

"You want me to stay over?" he squeaked, and Lily flushed deep maroon. Why did this happen to him today? Why did this have to happen _after _he received the letter? Lily blushed and nodded. When James continued to look at her, she cleared her throat and looked down at the floor.

"Er, sorry," she said, pulling away from him, but James pulled her back to him, holding her firmly to him.

"Don't go anywhere," he said, still looking at her face, and Lily flushed. She looked up into his hazel eyes to see something in there that wasn't usually there.

"James, what's wrong?" she asked gently, and James looked away from her. _So something is wrong, _she thought, "James," she repeated. James seemed to be extremely interested in the plants. Lily huffed and let go of his shoulders, putting her hands on either side of his face, turning his face so he _had _to look at her, "What is wrong?" she asked and watched as his eyes burned.

"Lily," he said softly, resting his forehead on hers. Lily realized she wasn't going to find out, and decided to just be there for him.

"I'm here," she said, looking into his eyes, and his face puckered slightly. Lily wrapped her arms firmly around his torso. James buried his face in the crook of her neck, and wrapped his arms firmly around her.

Sirius looked over at the couple and grabbed a bottle of Firewhisky.

* * *

"What's going on mate?" Sirius whispered to James, who shook his head. The girls were sending Alice off with Frank, and the boys were hanging around at the back, watching.

"I don't know," James said, and Remus put his arm around James's shoulders

"We're here for you mate," he said, and James nodded dumbly

"I don't know what to do," he sighed.

"Look mate, you don't have to do it," Sirius said, slightly drunk, and James turned to look at him, "Hear me out. I mean, it's not like Voldemort is going to keep tabs on you or anything," he pointed out, "He wouldn't notice if you and Lily stayed together would he? He probably only said it to play with your mind," Sirius finished, and James frowned.

"I never thought of that," Remus mused, "it makes sense. Why don't you try that out mate? There's no point putting both of you through unnecessary pain," he said, and James ran his hand through his hair.

"You sure?"

"Try," Remus shrugged, and James nodded, suddenly feeling immensely better. Lily turned around to look at them, and James grinned at her. Lily smiled back; relieved he was back to normal

"I wonder what was wrong with him," she mused, after Gwenog disapparated. She had to get back to Germany; they had another game in three days.

"James? I was going to ask you," Hestia giggled, slinging her arm around Lily. They approached the boys, and James walked over to Lily, wrapping his arms around her waist and backing her up a few steps, so they were a little ways away from the rest of them.

"I see you're better," Lily grinned at James, who chuckled and kissed her cheek.

"Moony helped me," he shrugged, and Lily nodded, happy she had her boyfriend back.

"Good, I was tired of having to deal with a cry baby," she teased, and James gave her a deadpan look, "No, I'm not taking it back," she said, and he laughed.

"So does that offer still stand?" he asked, and Lily flushed and nodded. He grinned and leaned down to kiss her temple, before walking back to their friends, "So we're going to go," he said, and they all nodded. Lily reached into her purse and tossed Hestia something. The boys frowned at them, but the girls ignored them. Hestia looked at the thing Lily had passed her and laughed.

"Got it," she said, and Lily grinned.

"What?" Sirius asked, attempting to peek into Hestia's hand. Hestia shook her head and shoved the thing, which had been a sock, into her purse.

"Nothing," she said innocently, "Bye, have fun," she said, waving at James and Lily. Lily shot her friend a look, and then the two disapparated, "James isn't going to be coming home today," she said to the boys, who sniggered.

"Is that what Lily told you?" Remus asked, and Hestia nodded.

"We have a secret code. If one of us isn't supposed to come home, we have to pass the other one this sock," she said, pulling the rainbow sock out, "Each of us has one of the socks," she shrugged. The boys sniggered again and Hestia rolled her eyes. So bloody immature.

"Where are you going to go?" Sirius asked, and Hestia ran her hand through her hair.

"Probably my parents house," she said, and Sirius nodded. She kissed his cheek and hugged Remus before waving at them and disapparating. The two boys apparated back to their flat.

After Remus had gone to bed, Sirius walked into James's room. He looked around and froze as he saw another piece of paper lying on James's dresser. He ran over to it and picked it up, desperately hoping it was something James had left lying about. He yelled in frustration and kicked the bed, before throwing the letter in the bin and walking out.

_Lord Voldemort does not forget._

* * *

James opened his eyes suddenly, and found himself looking at a framed picture of him and Lily. He looked down to see the redhead herself snuggled against his chest, and grinned. He wrapped his arms more firmly around her and rested his face in her hair. To think, he'd almost lost her yesterday.

Lily moaned a little in her sleep and her hand moved up to her face. The movement caused most of her hair to fall in front of her face. James chuckled lightly and tucked her hair behind her ear. Lily squinted as the back of her eyelids suddenly turned red and hid her face. James laughed and Lily's eyes opened groggily. She sat up, dressed in a spaghetti top and short shorts, and rubbed her eyes.

"Hi," she sighed, and flopped back down on the bed. James laughed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hi," he said, and Lily smiled, her eyes closed.

"You smell like James," she breathed, and he grinned.

"What does that smell like?" he asked, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Like James,"

"You are sleepy my Lily," he murmured, kissing her forehead, and Lily sighed

"It's so early," she said, turning onto her stomach and burying her face in the pillow. James snickered and got out of bed, wearing only his boxers. He walked over to Lily's dresser and picked up his watch.

"Lils, it's ten," he said, exasperated, and Lily groaned.

"That's two hours too early," she whined into her pillow. James laughed and walked back over to the bed, sitting down on the edge. He pulled his shirt on and lay down on his back, pulling the covers over himself.

"Why would you want to wake up at 12? That way you miss the whole day," he said, and Lily sighed.

"No. Night starts at 12, so therefore, morning should as well. That way you spend 12 hours sleeping and 12 hours awake. It's the perfect balance," she concluded, and James laughed.

"I see," he said, humoring his sleepy girlfriend. In her defense, they hadn't gotten to sleep until _late. _

"Mmm," Lily sighed. James leaned over and kissed her cheek, before getting up.

"I should go," he said, and Lily sat up quickly.

"Where?" she asked, suddenly awake.

"Er, home?" he said, and Lily relaxed, flopping back down on the pillow, "Why?" he asked, and Lily shook her head.

"No reason," she smiled, and James rolled his eyes, before leaning down to kiss her softly.

"See you later," he said, getting up, and Lily smiled, her eyes still closed. James chuckled and disapparated, grabbing his clothes. He dumped his dress robes on his bed and walked into his bathroom to shower. He checked his dresser on the way and felt a grin split across his face at seeing no letter.

* * *

"Moony should we tell him?" Sirius asked, and Remus frowned, massaging his temples.

"I don't know," Remus said honestly, "It would scare him, but, he is trying to ignore it," he said uncertainly

"Exactly!" Sirius said, standing up, "Okay, thanks," he walked out, and Remus frowned.

"What?"

* * *

James ignored the letters for the next few weeks. And to his amazement, nothing happened. Voldemort didn't do anything. He and Lily were as happy as ever. They had even begun to forget about it.

But they forgot a simple fact

Lord Voldemort never forgets.

* * *

"James," Lily whined, falling back onto his lap. They had been sitting in James's room talking, Lily on his lap. James chuckled and kissed her behind the ear, causing her to shriek, making him laugh.

"Yes?" he asked innocently, and Lily huffed

"I have to go!"

"Why?"

"Because!"

"That's not an answer,"

"Don't be smart with me Potter," she teased, turning around and kissing his cheek.

"Why do you have to go?" he asked again, well, whined actually.

"I have to prepare for next week!" she squeaked, and James sighed.

"Lily, that's in a week!"

"Yes I know, that's why I said I had to prepare for _next week_," she said, and James rolled his eyes.

"It's just a test," he said, and Lily's eyes widened.

"Exactly! It's our first test in Auror Academy! I can't fail!"

"You're not going to fail anyway, you're bloody perfect," he muttered, and Lily chose to ignore him.

"I need to review!"

"So do I," he pointed out

"Exactly!"

"What?"

"Yes!"

"Lils you're not making sense anymore," he laughed, and Lily grinned. She leaned back and rested her head on his shoulder, so she was looking up at the ceiling.

"I don't want to go study," she said, and James nodded

"Then don't,"

"Are you out to sabotage my education? Are you aiming to do better than me? Is that why you're doing this?" she asked, and James grinned.

"Yes Lils. That is the bane of my existence,"

"Not like you'll beat me in a test," she said cheekily, and he snorted.

"I beat you in transfiguration all the time," he pointed out, and Lily's eyes narrowed infinitesimally, and James grinned to himself; Lily hated being beaten.

"Whatever Potter," she sighed. She turned and kissed James's cheek, before jumping up so quickly he didn't have time to catch her, "I win," she grinned at him. James growled and got up to catch her, but by the time he reached her, she had winked and disapparated.

"Bloody female," he chuckled to himself. Deciding to get to work and study, he walked over to his desk, and did a double take as he looked at the dresser, a groan escaping his frozen body.

_Beware Potter_

* * *

The letters started to arrive daily. It became almost a tradition for James to throw them in the trash whenever he got home. He wondered how they had gotten inside his flat in the first place. The Marauders had sealed all the windows and doors, and the chimney, to make sure no living creature could get inside without apparating, but it was no use. The letter's kept appearing.

"Wormy have you noticed anything?" James asked one day, as he showed them yet _another _letter.

"What? Why would I?" Peter squeaked. He mentally cursed himself for squeaking, but mercifully the other boys hadn't been paying attention.

"You're home before us," James shrugged, and Peter relaxed slightly.

"No," he said. The other three boys believed him; there was no reason to mistrust a friend.

* * *

"Wormtail," the high voice called. Peter jumped from where he had been standing in the corner of the room in Malfoy Manor.

"Yes My Lord," he said walking over and taking a low bow in front of the snakelike man.

"How is our game?"

"I have been delivering the letters My Lord"

"And?"

"He's still ignoring them My Lord,"

"I see," Voldemort said, his red eyes flashing. How dare that boy ignore Lord Voldemort, he, who all people living feared, "We'll have to take further action."

* * *

"Good morrow," Sirius said happily, walking into the Marauder's kitchen one Saturday morning.

"Morrow?" Peter asked in an amused tone, as he handed Remus, the only cook, cheese for a cheese omelet.

"Yes, morrow," Sirius said. He walked over to Remus and ruffled his hair, "Hello my beautiful wife." Remus snorted and flipped over the omelet.

"Wife?" he asked irritably. Peter had eaten two omelets, and that meant he had to make two more.

"Yes, women sit in kitchens and make food for us men," Sirius said, and Remus grinned.

"I'll tell Hestia you just said that," he said cheekily, and felt a deep satisfaction as Sirius's face paled slightly.

"I take it back!" he squeaked. Remus opened his mouth to retort, when they heard a yell.

"What was that?" Remus asked. The yell sounded again, mixed in with sobs.

"Prongs," Sirius said worriedly, and sprinted over to James's room, wand drawn. Remus took the omelet off the plate and followed after, Peter on his tail. Sirius threw open the door to James's room to see the man himself lying in bed, wrapped in his covers, yelling and thrashing around, tears streaming down his face, still asleep.

"Prongs!" Sirius yelled worriedly over James's yells. It didn't seem to penetrate through to James, however, as he continued to yell, "PRONGS!" Sirius screamed. James sat up quickly, sweating, his heart pounding. He looked around fearfully, and then turned to see his three best mates, Remus in an apron, looking at him worriedly.

"What happened?" Remus asked worriedly, and James sighed. He held his head in his hands and groaned, shaking his head. Remus grabbed Peter and pulled him out of the room. When Sirius followed, however, Remus turned around and pushed him back into the room, "Talk to him!" he hissed, and Sirius nodded. Remus rolled his eyes and shut the door. Sirius turned around awkwardly and looked at James, who was still sitting with his head in his hands.

"What's wrong mate?" he asked, walking over to sit down next to James. James looked up, and Sirius was shocked to see tears flowing down his cheeks.

"He was hurting her," James choked, and Sirius frowned, "In my dream. He came into my dream and showed me how he was going to do it. Padfoot, what do I do?" he asked, and Sirius looked into his best mate's scared, pained, hazel eyes.

"I don't know mate," Sirius said honestly. James nodded, tears continuing to flow down his cheeks, and then looked over at his dresser. There was another letter there. James jumped out of his bed and sprinted over to the letter, picking it up.

_I know where she is_

* * *

"LILY! LILY!" she sat up quickly as the door flew open, banging against the wall. She looked bleary eyed towards the source of the evil door slamming to see James standing in her doorway. As she sat up, she saw a look of relief pass across his face.

"What?" she whined, rubbing her eyes. James almost pounced on her as he crawled onto her bed. He grabbed her face in both of his hands and looked down into her green eyes, before standing up and disapparating, a look of determination on his face.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Hestia mumbled as she walked inside the room from where she had been standing in the doorway. Lily shrugged and flopped back down onto her pillow.

* * *

Lily didn't hear from James for the rest of the weekend.

**

* * *

Remus's Occlumency Diary**

Hello, I haven't spoken to you in a while. I can't believe I just greeted you like an old friend. Oh sod it, I'm already strange enough. So, well, I found you when I was looking through all the textbooks I had to buy for Auror Academy (surprisingly there are a lot of them…I mean a lot) and I thought, "hey, I might as well clear my mind, it's sensible." So here I am, clearing my mind…yep.

I'm out of practice. Okay, so, something to write about, er, Auror Academy. It's going great, thank you for asking. I'm still extremely grateful that I was accepted into it, especially, you know, considering my condition. There's nothing too interesting going on with work. Lily's the best, obviously.

Speaking of Lily, I'm extremely worried. James is going to dump her, that's a fact. Wait, don't be shocked, let me explain. I would dump in that situation as well. So, Voldemort (the bloody idiot) keeps sending James these letters saying that he's going to get Lily. I think it's a game, personally. I mean, he realized James was spying on him so he decides to play a game with him. I highly doubt he'll actually hurt Lily. Well, I hope he doesn't. Whatever happens, James is going to be in pain. He's in his room right now, like he has been all weekend, not talking, not eating. I want to know what he's doing in there. He has locked the door, magically don't worry we're not _that _daft. If I couldn't hear yells from there occasionally I'd assume he had died. It's worrisome. I wonder what he's doing in there. It's got an anti-apparation charm on it as well. Who said us Marauders weren't a brilliant bunch? It's quite irritating actually. If it was Wormtail we'd be able to make it in, that's for sure

Speaking of, Wormtail has been acting especially weird now. I don't know what it is. It's just, I don't know. For example, you should see his face when James gets his letters. He looks fearful. Well, actually, all of us do, but his is different. It's sort of _guilty _almost. I don't know, maybe I'm looking too much into this.

Er, something else to discuss…oh, right, _my _personal life. Well, I haven't told any of the others (Marauders and Marauderettes) this, don't tell them, but I'm going down to Hogwarts on their first Hogsmeade weekend, because it's going to be Dora's first Hogsmeade weekend, since she's a third year now. Their first visit is on Monday, yes I know, Monday, so odd. I hope it'll be a good surprise. I do miss her, but I don't think I should. I don't want to ruin her life by having her associated with me. I've been writing to her, and she's been replying. It's nothing gooey and disgusting, more like, just talking. She says she misses me. It makes me oddly happy.

My mind keeps jumping back to Lily and James. See, even their names fit together well. You can't say Lily without thinking James, and the other way around. They're in love, and I'm not just saying that. And they're meant to be, and I'm not just saying _that _either.

I wonder how he'll do it, the break up I mean. It's not going to be easy, that's for sure, for Lily as well as James. Lily's not one to let go easily, it's going to be messy. And James? He's not _able _to let go easily, especially of Lily.

Anyway I should go, I have to study for an Auror Academy test in three days, so on Wednesday. Oh Merlin tomorrow is Monday. I'm afraid. Help me. I have to deal with Auror Academy, Lily and James, and Mad-eye. That's Moody, just by the way. His eye is insane. It makes me feel so awkward, like he's looking through my clothes. I'm pretty sure he's looked through Lily's actually. Don't tell James I said that, he'd get shredded trying to fight Moody.

* * *

When she arrived at Auror Academy on Monday morning, seething at her boyfriend for not contacting her after rudely waking her up that Saturday morning, Lily barged in, wanting to murder him. Honestly, you don't wake someone up like that and then not talk to them the entire weekend.

Lily hadn't bothered apparating over to his flat, but she had asked about him every time Hestia had come home. She had spent the entire weekend buried in textbooks, as she usually did when she was worried. Hestia had said that James was not home.

She barged into the room and saw the three Marauders and Frank standing with Gideon and Fabian in a corner. She narrowed her eyes at James, who was trying very hard not to look at her, but his eyes kept flickering traitorously over to her. Lily looked around and sauntered over to sit down next to Alice, who was reading.

"Hello Mrs. Longbottom," Lily said as cheerfully as she could manage, and saw Alice's skin flush a deep maroon.

"Your name is no fun," Alice mumbled, grinning. Lily laughed and Alice put her book down to grin widely at Lily, "Can you believe I'm a Mrs.?" she asked incredulously, and Lily shook her head.

"It's insane," Lily chuckled, and Alice grinned.

"It is! Oh Merlin, I'm leaving tomorrow," she squealed, stomping her feet excitedly. Lily looked at her dumbly, and Alice rolled her eyes, "My honeymoon?"

"Oh right!" Lily yelled, and she saw everyone's heads swivel around to look at her. She flushed slightly as Alice laughed at her, and tried to ignore how James was looking at her.

"You're so cute," Alice chuckled, "I'm leaving tomorrow for two weeks," she declared, and Lily's eyes widened.

"You're missing two weeks of Auror Academy?" she asked, shocked,

"Just because you're the Gryffindor know-it-all," Alice teased, and Lily snorted, "Well, there are more important things. I mean, wouldn't you pick James over school?" she asked, and Lily twirled her hair uncomfortably.

_Not right now, _she grinned and Alice smiled, taking her grin as a yes.

"Exactly. Plus, I have your incredibly precise notes," Alice teased, and Lily laughed.

"When tomorrow are you leaving?" she asked,

"Before Academy. So I will have to say bye to you after class today," she said, and Lily pouted, causing Alice to laugh

"You're going to leave me with testosterone?" she whined, and Alice laughed.

"Well that's rather rude Evans," Sirius said, strolling over. Lily noticed how he took James's usual seat, and James sat down on his other side, away from Lily. Lily narrowed her eyes at him, which didn't go unnoticed by Sirius, who cleared his throat.

Lily didn't bother to answer Sirius's question, and turned away with a huff, pulling her notebook out. She put it down on the desk irritably, facing the board, trying not to acknowledge the fact that her eyes were glazed over. She saw Sirius shift uncomfortably out of the corner of her eye, and saw Remus say something quietly to James.

"_Imperio!" _Lily felt a tingling feeling spread through her body and felt something cold go up her spine into her head, "Stand up," a voice said. Lily felt her legs twitch, trying to obey, but stomped her feet firmly on the floor.

"N-no," she choked out, and she heard a chuckle. The spell lifted and she took a deep breath, stretching out her legs.

"On a Monday morning," Moody said in his scratchy voice, a smirk on his face. Lily didn't even bother throwing him a cheeky glance or silencing the snickering Sirius, "Good job," he said, before clumping over to the front of the room. He pulled his wand out and suddenly all their desks vanished, their books and writing materials falling to the floor. Lily picked her belongings off the floor and put them in her bag. Today was going to be a practical day. Everyone else in the room seemed to have the same idea.

"Bloody perfect," Sirius muttered, and Lily grinned involuntarily. Sirius smiled at her and she sighed, facing forward. After all, it was James she was furious at, not Sirius.

"Dueling." The one word sent chills through Lily's body. Next to her, she saw Sirius's face light up and smirked to herself, "You will be paired up with somebody, and curse each other," he grinned maliciously and Lily choked on bile. How did he find people getting hurt so enjoyable? Moody pointed his wand at them, pairing them up with people. Lily sat there, and saw peoples eyes flick nervously to her, and smirked slightly.

Moody pointed his wand at the irritating blonde girl, whose name was Valerie as Alice had informed her, and she flew over to James, and threw him a large grin. Lily's jaw clenched and she looked back over at Moody. She was in the mood to duel all of a sudden. Moody pointed his wand at her, and she flew over, all eyes watching her warily, and landed next to Benjy Fenwick. He had been at Hogwarts with them, in their year, but in Ravenclaw.

"Hello!" he said happily, and Lily grinned at him.

"Benjy!" she said excitedly, throwing her arms around his neck. They had been good friends back in her fourth year, but after he had gotten together with Helen Markson, she hadn't spoken to him. Her eyes flicked over to James, who was glaring at Benjy with a clenched jaw. James had never liked Benjy Fenwick, "I didn't know you were in this class!" she squealed, and Benjy shrugged

"I just transferred from Healer training," he said, "One word, dull," he groaned, and Lily laughed. Moody cleared his throat and they turned over to look at him.

"Ms. Evans, it seems, can talk to everyone," he said bitterly, and she heard Sirius guffaw. Moody turned to face the class and smiled slyly, "You may begin." Lily turned to look at Benjy, who stood up and gestured over to the back of the room. Lily grinned and walked over, suddenly feeling much better than she had that morning. Who needed James Potter?

_You do_, the irritatingly wise voice in her head reminded her, and she sighed. Being cheerful, or convincing herself to be, wasn't going to help her through this. She needed James. She looked over at him to see Valerie dragging him to a corner of the room, and felt her heart drop.

"So, er, can you please try not to kill me?" Benjy teased, not missing the way Lily had been looking at James. Lily laughed and nodded, "Okay good," he said, relaxing and loosening up. He pulled his wand out and held it read, and Lily followed suite, "Go," he said. The two stood like that for a while, aware. Lily's eyes kept flickering over to James, to see Valerie throw herself onto him, saying it was because of the curse. Her vision turned red and she turned back to Benjy, who looked fearful as he saw the redhead go, well, red. She flicked her wand and Benjy Fenwick, poor bloke, was blasted across the room, slamming into the board. The whole class turned to see Lily standing, shocked at what she had just done and on the verge of laughter, and Benjy pushing himself up, "You said you _wouldn't _try to kill me!" he squeaked, and Lily burst into laughter, as did the rest of the class. Lily saw James laugh out of the corner of her eye, and saw Valerie throw her a death glare.

Benjy stood up and crossed his arms at her from across the room, before raising his wand, "Bring it Evans," he said. Lily grinned and held her wand up. She could do this. Moody was watching them in fascination, and didn't seem to mind the fact that the whole class had turned to standing and watching.

"_Impedi-"_

"_Petrificus Totalus!" _Lily yelled, before he had even gotten his word out. Benjy's body turned as stiff as a board and he glared at her. Lily grinned and freed him of his body-bind curse.

"Bloody hell Evans let _me _practice!" he yelled teasingly. Lily nodded and lowered her wand, "_Impedimenta!" _he yelled. Lily dodged out of the way, and the spell hit the wall behind her. Lily smiled at him and he huffed, crossing his arms, "Professor Moody!" he said, turning to Moody, whose eyebrows rose at the use of the word 'professor', "Can I have a new partner?" he asked, and Lily laughed. Moody chortled and nodded.

"You can work with Mr. Potter and Ms. Thames," he said, nodding towards James and Valerie. Valerie seemed put out, and James looked at Benjy with threatening eyes. Benjy trotted over to Lily, ruffled her hair with a cheeky grin, and then walked over to James and Valerie.

"Bye Lily Willy!" he yelled over to her, and Lily laughed

"Bye Benjy Fenjy?" she said uncertainly. Benjy snorted and then grinned at his new group.

"So, Ms. Evans," Moody said, clumping over to her. Lily's head snapped towards him, blushing slightly. She had been looking at James, who had been watching her intently, the two making eye contact with each other. James turned to look at Moody curiously, as did Benjy, but Valerie decided to just ogle James, "you have no partner," he said bluntly, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Obviously," she said, before her eyes widened as she realized she had said that to a teacher, and she looked at Moody, who only laughed.

"I guess we have to get you a new one," he said, and Lily nodded, wishing she could have Valerie, so she could blast her to pieces. Moody removed his large cloak, and placed it on the floor, and pulled his wand out, "Give me your best shot," he said. Lily's jaw dropped and she whimpered slightly. She wasn't good enough to duel a fully trained Auror! Especially a top Auror like Moody!

The class turned to look at them, shocked, and Lily looked over at Alice fearfully, only to have Alice, who was dueling her husband, wink at her and give her two thumbs up. She sighed and put her hair up in a knot, before holding her wand up steadily. She looked at Moody, who just looked at her steadily, smirking slightly. She thought a spell and, so fast that she wasn't even sure it happened, Moody's wand sliced through the air, putting up a shield charm. Lily fell to the floor, ducking, as the spell hit the wall behind her, where her stomach had been mere seconds before. Moody nodded, satisfied, and smirked at her.

Lily stood up again and thought another spell, only to have Moody duck as soon as she had sent it.

_How was he doing this? _

She tried again, and Moody had his retort ready as soon as the spell had left her wand. She huffed irritably and the class laughed, causing her to jump. She had forgotten they were in class.

"Ms. Evans you're forgetting about something," he said quietly. Lily frowned and crossed her arms, thinking. The last time she had been involved against an opponent had been when Voldemort had been torturing her. He had been surrounded by Death Eaters, which was how she had thought of that, as she noticed the crowd watching them.

Moody was anticipating her every move.

_Voldemort did as well_, she thought, and she gasped as she put the pieces together.

Moody knew Legilimency. She closed her eyes and cleared her mind of all thought, even if it only lasted a few seconds. She mentally imagined brick walls going up around her mind and then opened her eyes, guarded, praying this would work. She looked into Moody's eyes, which were focused, unlike they had been the previous two times. She decided to test her Occlumency out, to see if it worked.

_Moody your fly is open. _Moody didn't twitch, and Lily smirked slightly. She thought of her spell, and let it soar towards Moody. Moody didn't duck in time, and was hit by the spell, thrown backwards into the wall. They all watched, shocked, and then the class started to laugh and clap for her. Lily grinned at Moody, who smirked at her and nodded, satisfied.

"Hat's off to you Ms. Evans for figuring it out," he chuckled, before rubbing his lower back, "Continue the rest of you. Ms. Evans, wait there whilst I find you another opponent," he muttered. Lily grinned and Moody walked out of the room.

"Trust the Gryffindor know-it-all to get everything right," Remus teased, walking over to her and putting his arm around her. Lily grinned at him and then sighed as she realized James wasn't looking at her anymore. What had she done? What was wrong?

"No, no, it's just Lily-flower," Sirius pointed out, smirking before turning back to his opponent, Fabian. Gideon, who was Remus's partner, walked over and smirked at her.

"If you cruciated me, how much would it hurt?" he asked curiously. Lily rolled her eyes and shoved the two boys

"Get back to work before he comes back," she hissed. They chuckled and walked back to their spot, drawing their wands. Lily walked over to a counter and hopped onto it, pulling her legs up and tucking her knees under her chin. She wished she were at home. At home, she would be able to spend her time brooding over what was wrong with James. At home, James wouldn't be resolutely ignoring her. At home, she wouldn't have a blonde haired, blue-eyed hippogriff trying to shoot spells at her. She sighed and closed her eyes.

There was a sudden stinging sensation on her foot and she looked down to see that her wand was pressed against it, burning a hole into her flats. She hissed and moved it quickly. Smart. So she, Lily Evans, could beat a top Auror, but she burned a hole in her shoe. Lily shook her head and hopped off the counter. She felt James's eyes on her but ignored him as she sat on the floor, cross-legged, and pulled her foot closer to her face.

"What did you do?" Sirius asked, amused, walking over to her. Fabian was fixing his brothers' face after something Remus had done, which was amusing Remus to no end.

"Nothing," Lily mumbled, embarrassed, and Sirius grinned

"I don't remember him cursing you," he said, looking down at her. James turned to see what they were talking about, worried.

"He didn't do it," she said, untying her hair out of it's knot, and it cascaded down her back and fell in front, hiding her face from James, which had been her intention.

"Then who did?" he asked.

"Er, me," she said, and grinned up at Sirius, who barked a laugh.

"How the bloody hell did you manage to do that?" he asked, smirking

"I wasn't paying attention, and then my arm was resting on my knee, and I was, er, thinking, and it was on my shoe, and now it hurts," she finished, and Sirius laughed.

"Bloody hell flower what were you thinking about?" he asked, crouching down. Lily jerked her leg away, but Sirius grabbed it and sat down on his bum, looking down at her feet. Lily yanked her leg again and Sirius guffawed, "Lily-flower it's no use I'm stronger than you," he said, and Lily huffed. She gave up and allowed Sirius to look at her foot. He pulled her flat, or what was left of it, off her foot and winced, "Ouch," he muttered. Lily looked down and gasped. Her big toe was all red and the skin had been burnt, having burned off a few layers of skin. She grimaced and then looked up at Sirius, who was grinning.

"What?" she asked irritably. Here she was, in pain, and one of her best friends was laughing.

"It's just, you can take on top Aurors, but you did this to _yourself_," he grinned. Lily rolled her eyes and grinned. She sighed and attempted to stand up, but Sirius didn't let go of her foot, "where are you going?" he asked, and Lily frowned.

"Er, I can't sit here all day," she said. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"You're _injured_," he said, and Lily snorted.

"I've had worse," she shrugged, but Sirius looked at her.

"That was when you couldn't do anything about it," he said. Before Lily could say anything else, Sirius turned towards James's group, "Oi! Fenwick!" Benjy turned and walked over to them, "You went to Healer training right?" Sirius asked, and Benjy nodded. Sirius grinned happily and then pointed down at Lily's toe, "fix this," he said. Benjy looked down at her toe and smirked.

"What happened?" he asked, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him.

"Long story short, Lily-flower can duel others but not herself," Sirius said, and Benjy snorted. Valerie, who was curious, walked over to see what was going on, and James followed slowly.

"Honestly Lily," Benjy chuckled.

"Will you fix it?" Sirius asked, and Lily turned to throw him a deadpan look, "Don't bother Lily-flower you're not getting up until it's fixed," he said, and Lily sighed.

"Yeah I can do that," Benjy shrugged. Sirius grinned and handed him Lily's foot, causing Lily to shriek and fall over as her leg was thrown around.

"Sirius!" she yelled, and Sirius laughed.

"Sorry Lily-flower," he said, but he didn't look sorry. Benjy chuckled and got down on his knees.

"Alright, this is going to hurt, because this is a pretty serious burn," Benjy said in an authoritative tone, and Lily nodded, "It's like Cruciatus Curse pain," he said, and Lily threw him a deadpan look

"I know the feeling," she said, and Benjy flushed.

"Oh, right," he said awkwardly, and grinned at her, "So, you ready?" he asked, pushing his sleeves back and pulling out his wand. Lily grimaced and nodded. Benjy pointed his wand at the toe and Lily whimpered. It hurt, "Sorry," Benjy said apologetically, and Lily shook her head. She lay down on her back and covered her face with her hands. It was embarrassing to cry over something like this

"Go duel Sirius," she said. She felt the weight on the floor move and felt a hand ruffle her hair before footsteps sounded. She thought she was alone with Benjy, until there was a gentle hand on hers, moving it away from her face. She looked up and saw James sitting next to her, not looking at her. He took her hand gently, as if he was extremely hesitant, and looked at what Benjy was doing. She looked over at him and he looked down at her. He continued to look down into her eyes, and Lily felt her stomach flip. This was bad. This was very bad. She yelped as something hurt, and James's face snapped over to what Benjy was doing.

"Sorry," he squeaked, but continued on with what he was doing

"That's fine," Lily choked out through the lump in her throat, both from the pain and from James.

"Almost done," he assured her, and Lily nodded. She squeezed James's hand and James squeezed hers back gently. Just then, the door opened and Moody walked in. he stopped when he saw Lily on the floor and smirked slightly

"Who finally got Ms. Evans," he asked, looking around, and Sirius guffawed.

"She did," he snickered, and Moody smirked

"You got yourself?"

"Er, sort of," Lily mumbled, and Moody chuckled

"Ah, and here I thought someone had finally beaten you," he sighed, and clumped over, then looked down at her toe, "Happened to me once," he said matter-of-factly, "Death Eater had his wand pressed against my back holding me hostage and started to steadily burn me," he said, and Lily flinched, "Bloody hurts. You'll be fine in a second," he said, and clumped over to watch the others.

"See, you're normal," Benjy said, and Lily chuckled.

"Yay," she said, and Benjy laughed, and James smiled slightly.

"It's finally been proven," he said seriously, and Lily gasped.

"Benjy!" Benjy laughed and put her foot gently on the floor

"All done, can you wiggle it?" he asked. Lily wiggled her toe and Benjy smiled, satisfied.

"You make a great healer," she said, and Benjy shrugged, "Why'd you quit?" she asked. Benjy sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Helen and I split, and I couldn't be in the same room as her after that," he said, and Lily looked at him sympathetically

"That's no reason to quit," she said quietly, and Benjy sighed.

"I can't go in the same room as her," he grimaced. Lily pushed herself up, feeling lightheaded, and smiled slightly at him.

"That's no reason. She's probably hurting just as much as you, plus, I never thought you'd be one to run away from problems," she teased, and Benjy laughed. James turned away from Lily and subtly wiped his eye. Sirius, noticing, sauntered over to save the day.

"LILY-FLOWER IS FIXED!" he yelled, and the whole class jumped, "Come on people, Constant Vigilance!" he said, and they all laughed. Lily looked over at Moody, who was chuckling lightly.

"Thank you for that Mr. Black," Moody said as he walked over. Lily grinned as the sound reminded her of Captain Hook from Peter Pan, "As you are better Ms. Evans, I have found you someone to duel," he announced. Lily jumped up, grinning, as she felt no pain.

"Thank you," she said to Benjy, who shook it off, "And go back if you really want to be a Healer, you've only missed, what, one day?" she asked, and he chuckled.

"Maybe I will go back, thanks Willy," he grinned. Lily smiled and Benjy walked away. Lily sighed and realized James was still loosely holding her hand, "Er, hi," she said quietly, looking down at the floor. James bit his lip and sighed.

"Hey," he whispered. Lily felt her stomach flip as she heard his voice. It had been so long, "You should go," he said, before she could say anything else. Lily nodded, still not looking at him, and started to walk away, "hey," he whispered. Lily turned around quickly and looked up into his eyes, and felt her throat clog as she saw his hazel eyes. James looked into her green, _green _eyes.

"Yes?" James looked into her eyes for another second before shaking his head and walking away. Lily narrowed her eyes at his back irritably and then turned around.

"Ready?" Moody asked. Lily nodded and Moody grinned, before walking over to the door. He opened it and in walked none other than Daniel Potter.

"Oh no," Lily groaned, and Daniel grinned at her.

"Hello," he said cheerfully, and walked over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Why?" she whined, and he laughed.

"Because I volunteered. Emily was amused," he winked, and Lily sighed. She looked over at James, who was looking at his father with a pained expression. Sirius walked over to James.

"What?" he whispered, as Moody explained what was going to happen to Lily

"I forgot about them," he whispered back huskily, "It'll kill them." Sirius grimaced and clapped James on the back sympathetically.

"Ready?" Moody asked, and Lily sighed, before nodding. Daniel smiled, amused, and took a few steps back.

"Ready?" he teased, and Lily stuck her tongue out at him, drawing her wand. Before anyone could say anything, Lily screamed. Daniel looked at her, alarmed, and ran over, as did James.

"What happened?" James asked, as Lily ducked her head, holding back tears, "What did you do?" he asked his father, who shook his head.

"Nothing," he said, and James turned back to Lily, who had straightened up and turned to glare at the corner. They all turned to see Valerie standing with her wand lazily in her hand.

"What did you do that for?" Lily hissed, and Valerie threw her a faux-innocent look

"Do what?" she asked. Daniel rolled his eyes, as he saw Valerie's flicker over to his son, who was regarding Lily with an awestruck expression, and put his arm around Lily's shoulders.

"Not worth it," he smiled, and Lily narrowed her eyes at Valerie, before turning back to Daniel, "Shall we?" he teased. Lily grinned and nodded. He raised his wand and threw a curse at Lily, that almost got her, but she managed to twirl out of the way just in time. She hadn't ever thought of Daniel as an Auror, a top one at that. She looked at Daniel and thought a curse, which flew at him. Daniel put up a shield charm quickly and Lily ducked as her curse flew back at her. She threw another curse at Daniel, who dodged it, sending a curse at her simultaneously. Lily squeaked as she heard it whoosh past her ear and looked at him.

_Levicorpus_, she thought, smirking, and Daniel screamed as his ankle pulled him into the air.

"That's not a curse!" Daniel laughed, as she let him down.

"Well, I'd get my opponent in the air," she said, and he chortled.

"Okay, I'm tired, well done," he said. He ruffled her hair and walked out of the room. Lily turned to grin at Moody, who looked irritated.

"This isn't supposed to be an easy course," he muttered, and turned around.

* * *

After class, Lily hugged Alice and Frank goodbye, and then walked out of Auror Academy. She didn't want to talk to James. She was still irritated at him, but she was more worried. She disapparated without any sign from the Marauders and went back home, burying herself in her work again.

Why wasn't he talking to her? She hadn't done anything wrong? What had she done? Oh Merlin, had he moved on? It's not like he didn't have options. Had he decided she wasn't worth that entire wait? Had six years of her cruelty finally gotten through to him?

Lily huffed and threw her pen down onto her notebook. She couldn't concentrate with these thoughts flooding her mind. She stood up and disapparated to the Marauders flat. She landed in the living room and looked around. There was nobody there. She knew for a fact that Sirius and Hestia were on a date. Remus had said he was busy after class today. Lily had no clue where Peter was. She was pleased, and anxious, that she was alone in the flat with James, whom she knew was there because his door was closed. She walked over to it and attempted to push it open, but it wouldn't budge. She tried to unlock it with her wand, which didn't have any effect either. She grumbled and tried to apparated, but only ended up in the same spot. She huffed, irritated, and decided to knock on the door. She wasn't leaving until he explained himself.

"WHAT?" she heard James yell, but continued knocking, "Go away Pads!" Lily continued to knock and heard him grumble. The door flew open, Lily's fist still raised, and James looked down at her with shocked eyes, "What are you doing here?" he blurted out, and Lily narrowed her eyes.

"What am I doing here?" she hissed, crossing her arms, "I don't hear from you after you rudely wake me up on Saturday morning and you have the nerve to _avoid _me today?" she was yelling by the end of her question. James closed his eyes, gathering the courage for this, and nodded into his room. Lily walked past him, and James took in the smell of her Orchid shampoo, before following her inside, closing the door behind him.

"Explain yourself, I'm not leaving until I get answers. I want answers, and I want them _now_," she said, arms crossed, sitting down on his bed. James looked down at her and Lily saw the sadness in his eyes, "What's wrong?" she asked in a softer tone, and James's jaw clenched.

"Nothing," he said, and Lily glared at him.

"Right, okay," she said sarcastically, glaring up at him, "What happened to you? You were perfectly fine three days ago!" she yelled. James saw tears form in her eyes and had to suppress the urge to walk over to her and pull her into his arms.

James just stood there quietly, not answering her question, memorizing everything about her. Her hair, her eyes, the sound of her voice, the way she brought her hand up to her hair frequently, the way her eyes got bright when she was angry, the way she used her hands to talk, the way her eyes searched his face.

"Why are you just standing there?" she asked angrily. James continued to look at her, unable to say anything. Lily huffed and stood up, "Are you going to say _anything_?" she yelled. James just continued to look at her, trying extremely hard to control his tear ducts. His eyes had blurred over a few times already. Lily felt her stomach fall out of her bum as she looked into his hard, unresponsive eyes.

"Do you not want me anymore?" she asked, and James's jaw clenched. This would have to be the angle he did it from, it would be the only one she accepted. When James didn't say anything, a tear escaped Lily's eye. Her hand came up so fast to wipe it away, had James not been looking into her eyes, he wouldn't have seen it, "Is that it? Do you not want to see me anymore?"

Using all the energy he could muster, and the thought of keeping the girl he loved alive, James shook his head. He looked into Lily's eyes and saw the immense hurt in them. Lily didn't bother covering up her emotions.

"Oh," she whispered, looking down at the floor, "I see, well, that, that changes things," she said. James nodded, not that she could see, and Lily looked up at him, "Do you, er, fancy someone else?" she asked in a broken whisper, and James felt his world collapse. She'd accepted it so quickly. He closed his eyes, unable to look at her, and nodded. He opened them slowly to see tears streaming steadily down her face. He wasn't sure if she knew. He looked into her eyes and saw the light in them that he loved so much, the light that made her his Lily, slowly go out.

"Oh, er, okay, I'll, I'll go now," she said, her voice breaking. James shook his head involuntarily, and Lily looked up at him. That little act by James shaking his head had set her off again, "Don't you think I demand some sort of explanation?" she asked, and James looked up at her, "Did you cheat on me or something?" she shrieked. James looked up at her and shook his head. He couldn't lie about that.

"I-I wouldn't. It just, it just happened," he said, and Lily glared at him

"Who?" James' mind wondered, quickly looking for a name

"Valerie," he said, and Lily's heart stopped.

Valerie. _Valerie_. VALERIE?

James stood, measuring Lily's reaction, and saw the fury and pain in her face, "Lils, I still lo-"

"Don't!" she yelled, walking over to him and clapping her hand over his mouth. James felt his heart jump at what close proximity they were standing, and the fact that she was touching him, "Don't you _dare _say you love me Potter," she choked. James reached up and pulled her hand off his mouth, keeping it in between his hands.

"I'll always love you Lily, don't forget that," he said earnestly. Lily looked up at him for a split second, before James felt something hit the side of his face. He gasped and touched his cheek where Lily had slapped him.

"I hate you!" she yelled, "I hate you! You made me fall for you! And then you do this? How dare you! How bloody dare you! I hate you for making me fall for you! I hate you for doing this to me! I hate you for everything! I hate you James Potter!" she shrieked. James looked down at her and took a step towards her, pulling her into a hug, "No! Get off me!" she yelled through her feeble attempts to fight him off.

James continued to hold her, not wanting her to see the tears that had escaped his eyes and were now seeping into her hair. James closed his eyes, and memorized the feeling of her, lightly touching her hair, before wiping his eyes and standing up. Lily glared up at him, and James opened his mouth, but Lily walked away from him. She walked over to his bedside, and James winced as she shattered the present she'd given him last Christmas. The crystal ball with the moving picture of them dancing together shattered on the floor, and James looked down at it dumbly. He looked back up at Lily, who pulled her locket off and threw it on the bed.

"Lily," he whispered, and her eyes narrowed. He bit his lip, controlling his sobs. She looked into his eyes one last time, before disapparating.

The door opened behind him and Sirius, Remus and Peter walked in. Sirius walked forwards and pulled his best mate into a hug, letting James cry his eyes out onto his shoulder.

"You had to mate," Sirius whispered, and James nodded, but his sobs didn't subside.

That's the only reason he did it.

**

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Don't hate me. **

**REVIEW PLEASE. **


	7. Decisions

**Hello everybody! So, there was a lot of criticism in the last paragraph, and I really appreciate it. I'm not planning on using Benjy as an object to make James jealous, and I'm not going to do a typical cliché or whatever, so just stay tuned.**

**

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Disclaimer: Still not owning Harry Potter**

_**

* * *

Previously:**_

_They broke up_

* * *

Lily landed in her flat and saw Hestia sitting in the living room, writing on a pad. Hestia looked up and jumped off the couch as she noticed her best friend's expression.

"Merlin Lily what happened?" she breathed.

"H-he doesn't want me anymore," she said back in a dead voice, and Hestia's eyes burned.

"That's not true, why would you say that?" she asked, and Lily looked into her eyes

"Because he told me. We just split." Hestia froze, anger and disbelief bubbling up inside her, and then held up her pointer finger.

"You stay here,"

"Okay," Lily said uncaringly, and sat down on her sofa, looking dead. Hestia looked at her best friend, but couldn't see Lily in the green eyes. Hestia, enraged, huffed and disapparated.

She landed in the Marauders flat to see Remus and Peter sitting solemnly in the kitchen. They jumped as they saw who it was and Hestia saw Peter twitch nervously as he interpreted her expression, "Where is he?" she hissed.

"Er, he's not here," said Peter uncertainly, trailing off as Hestia silenced him with a glare.

"The truth?" she asked, turning to Remus. Remus looked around uncomfortably, but Hestia did not budge. Eventually, after what felt like years, Remus sighed.

"He's in his room," he said quietly. Hestia turned away from them, her hair slapping her in the face, and marched over to James's room. She began knocking on the door, and heard the bedsprings squeak as someone got off the bed. The door opened and she looked up into Sirius's eyes

"Oh," Sirius said nervously. Hestia tried to look around him, but Sirius took a step forward, "Hest, not now," he said, and Hestia looked up at him with narrowed eyes.

"Not now? Not now? Are you aware that you're saying that?" she asked incredulously

"Is that rhetorical?" he asked, and Hestia glared at him, not amused

"Do not _joke _with me Sirius Black," she growled, and Sirius sighed, "What happened?" she asked.

"Why don't you ask Lily?" he replied, and she narrowed her eyes

"I did ask her, do you know what I got? I got five words. That's right. _Five. _From Lily. The girl that usually doesn't shut up with she's feeling any emotion at all! So I need an explanation, and I need it _now_," she hissed. Inside his room, James's heart sunk. Five?

"I-I don't know what to say Hest," Sirius said quietly, and Hestia stomped her foot.

"Bloody Hell Sirius it's not _you _I want to talk to!" she yelled, and shoved past Sirius into James's room, somehow managing to twist out of Sirius's restraining arms. She saw James sitting on his bed and crossed her arms, "Explain yourself," she said.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked, and Hestia narrowed her eyes

"You fancy someone else?" she asked, and he bit his lip, before nodding, "I don't believe you," she hissed, "Do not _lie _to me James Potter." James looked at her with pleading eyes, "I am not going to let you off the hook for this, why did you do that? If you just _didn't _want to see her anymore you could tell her!"

"What if he does fancy someone else?" Sirius asked, and Hestia turned to glare at him

"You stay out of this," she said, and then turned back to James, "You know _why _I don't believe you?" James looked up at her, "Because I know you. I know what you do when you want a girl. You did it to her all those years! And I don't believe that after six years of being in love with someone, one weekend can change that!" she yelled. James just looked at her, "Oh so you're not speaking? Well fine," she said, and disapparated. James looked over at Sirius, who was staring at Hestia's vacated spot with curious eyes.

"Can you look after her?" James asked in a choked voice. Sirius turned to look at his best mate, and nodded, before disapparating.

He landed in the girls flat to see Lily sitting on the sofa, staring at a spot on the wall, and Hestia, who had evidently just landed, walking into the kitchen. Hestia didn't notice as Sirius appeared, as her back was turned, but Lily's head snapped towards him. Sirius almost winced as he saw the dead look in her eyes.

"Hey," he said quietly, and sat down next to Lily. Lily continued to look at him with wide, green, clueless eyes, "How are you?" he asked soothingly. Lily didn't respond but turned to face the wall again with pained eyes.

"Does he really fancy her?" Lily asked, choked. Sirius looked at the shell of the girl next to him and sighed. He couldn't lie to her.

"No," he whispered, and Lily's head snapped towards him.

"But he said-"

"You think he would tell you the real reason?" Sirius asked, "You honestly think he doesn't love you anymore?" Lily looked at Sirius and he put his arm around her shoulders, "It killed him to do it, but if I was in his position I would have done the same thing," he said confidently, looking at Hestia as she walked into the room. She squeaked as she noticed Sirius and dropped the chocolate bar she was holding. Sirius grinned and turned back to Lily, who had smiled slightly at Hestia's reaction

"Then why did he say that?" she asked quietly, turning to look at Sirius, who sighed.

"Because he's confused. He thought that if he told you something like that you'd be more likely to handle this better," he shrugged. Lily snorted, and he grinned, glad that she was at least remotely normal again.

"He could have told me," she whispered, and Sirius nodded.

"So, what?" Hestia asked, and Sirius looked over at her.

"It's private!" he whispered, and Lily chuckled, and leaned on his shoulder, "Better?" Lily shook her head and Sirius gasped, "I thought I did a pretty good job," Lily giggled and closed her eyes

"You did a good job, but it doesn't change anything," she said, and then wiped at the tear that escaped her eye.

"It's no use crying over," Hestia said gently, sitting down on the other side of Lily. Lily turned to look at her best friend incredulously, as did Sirius, "he had his reasons, and all you can do right now is move on with your life," she said soothingly, "It's no use sitting here and crying, or not crying, whatever works your wand," she said, and Lily nodded.

"She's right," Sirius said, and Hestia snorted.

"Obviously," she teased, and Sirius narrowed his eyes at her.

"Excuse me I am being comforting here!" he yelled, before turning to throw Lily a charming smile, and Lily giggled.

"You're not doing so well," she said seriously, and Sirius gasped.

"It's over Lily-flower!" he yelled, and then gasped and clapped his hand over his mouth, "Merlin I'm sorry that came out wrong!" he squeaked. Hestia narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend, but, to both of their surprise, Lily burst out laughing, "I win," he said cheekily to Hestia, who rolled her eyes and then turned back to Lily

"Are you okay?" Lily shook her head

"But you will be?" Sirius asked in a hopeful tone, and Lily nodded slightly, "good, I think Moody would have a fit if you weren't," he sighed happily, clapping his hand over his heart.

"Merlin forbid," Lily said, and Sirius grinned. He kissed the side of her head before standing up and stretching.

"So I've done my good deed of the day, I'm going to turn in," he smiled.

"I'm sure you're exhausted," Hestia said seriously, and Sirius pouted, nodding like a child. The girls chuckled and Sirius waved before disapparating.

He landed in James's room and James's head snapped towards him. He raised his eyebrows and Sirius smiled slightly, causing James to exhale, relieved. Sirius walked over to his best mate and ruffled his hair, before walking out of the room.

* * *

Lily jumped as a spell flew at her. She looked up to see Moody standing there, looking at her curiously. After Sirius had left the previous day, Lily had gone back to the state she had been in before as she realized, no matter what her best friends had said, she and James _had _split up.

It was the day after, and Moody had decided to make it the practical day before the test, "Are you feeling okay, Ms. Evans?" he asked, and Lily nodded, "Are you sure?" she nodded again, "Are you ready to duel?" he smirked, and Lily sighed. She stood up and walked over to where everyone else had, and Moody looked around curiously, "Whom shall we choose," he mused. Lily looked back at the spot of wall she had been staring at earlier.

She heard a chair screech and looked over, feeling her heart speed up as James walked over to her, wand drawn. She looked over at Moody, who was smirking, "You can beat everyone, but let's see if you can beat your boyfriend." Lily flinched and she saw James turn to look over at Moody. James turned back to her and gave her a small smile, which she didn't reciprocate. How was she going to curse him? She still loved the idiot. She drew her wand and braced herself to cause herself pain, "Wait," she looked irritably over at Moody, who was frowning slightly, "Potter, sit down."

James followed Moody's orders and Moody pointed his wand at someone else. Lily smirked as her new opponent walked fearfully over to her. Now _this _she could do. She held her wand ready and then looked over at Sirius, who winked.

"You may begin." Lily started to send multiple curses, and the person in front of her barely managed to duck around them. She sent one back, but Lily blocked it lazily with a shield charm. Honestly, this was too easy. She sent a jinx at the opponent, and almost simultaneously, sent another one at her. Her opponent managed to avoid the first one, but was blasted across the room by the second one. Lily felt immensely satisfied as Valerie hit the wall. Lily walked over and sat down at her desk, ignoring Sirius's amused expression.

Benjy had transferred back to St. Mungos to continue his Healer training, thanks to her, but now she found herself alone. There was always Sirius, Remus, Gideon and Fabian, but they were all boys, so, naturally, they were with James. Alice and Frank weren't going to be coming back for two weeks.

"Very good," Moody smirked, and Lily's eyes flickered to him in response, "You may take a break," he said to the class in general. Lily stood up quickly and walked out of the room, feeling her friends' eyes on her. She got out of the doors and sighed, feeling all the tension drain out of her, only to be replaced by emptiness. She began to walk towards the bathroom when the door behind her opened.

"Where are you going?" She turned around quickly to see Hestia standing there, smiling at her. Lily's eyes widened and Hestia snorted, "You think I wouldn't come over for your break after yesterday? What kind of best friend to you think I am?" she gasped. Lily grinned and Hestia brightened, "There, finally, you're smiling. Come on." She grabbed Lily's hand and dragged her back into the room, where all the boys were sitting, watching them.

"Hest what are you wearing?" Lily grinned. Hestia narrowed her eyes at Lily and stuck her tongue out.

"It's extremely flattering," she said, gesturing to the hot pink pantsuit she was wearing. The pants fastened at her waist, her brown blouse tucked in, and the hot pink coat was only half sleeved.

"You're so bright," Lily scrunched her nose, and Hestia rolled her eyes, smiling. Lily was back.

"Doesn't it just make you want to smile?" she asked, twirling around. Lily looked down at her shoes and burst out laughing, "What?" she squeaked.

"Why are you wearing _those_? I thought that was a sin," she teased, gesturing to Hestia's tennis shoes. Sirius walked over as Hestia narrowed her eyes at Lily, and put his arm around her shoulders, kissing her cheek. He looked down and snorted.

"What in the name of Merlin have you done with my girlfriend?" he asked, and Hestia huffed.

"They're comfortable!" she said defensively, and Remus, who had just walked over, grinned.

"You're starting to sound like Lily," he said, and Hestia laughed. James walked over with Gideon and Fabian, who had just been informed of the breakup, and stood next to Sirius. Lily noticed how Hestia was resolutely ignoring him.

"Merlin forbid," Hestia grinned, and Lily crossed her arms, feeling James's gaze on hers.

"What are you doing here?" Remus asked, and Hestia bit her lip, her eyes flickering over to Lily, giving away her answer

"I didn't want my best friend surrounded by so much testosterone," she settled on saying, and Lily smiled slightly, "Speaking of, I'm doing a terrible job," she said, and shrugged out from under Sirius's arm, and linked her elbow through Lily's, "let's go," she said, and Lily frowned.

"Where?" she asked

"I don't know, show me around," she shrugged, and Lily groaned.

"But-"

"Honestly Lily," Hestia grumbled, irritated by her friend's lack of tact, and dragged Lily out of the room.

"What if I'm late?" Lily asked, and Hestia grinned.

"Risk taking is a great part of life," she said philosophically and Lily rolled her eyes

"Sirius is having a negative influence on you," she grumbled, and heard Sirius gasp, "Why are you following us?" she asked, as she saw all the boys behind them.

"You're defeating the purpose of _not _surrounding Lily by testosterone," Hestia whined, and the boys, sans James, grinned cheekily. Hestia turned around, dragging Lily with her, and faced her boyfriend. They were so close it was a miracle they could breathe, "Personal space Sirius," Hestia teased, and he laughed.

"Not likely," he said matter-of-factly. Lily sighed slightly as she realized James wasn't going to walk over and wrap his arms around her. There was a bang behind them and all of them turned quickly to see Emily standing in the doorway. She glared at James, who shrunk away under his mother's glare, and then turned to Lily with a smile.

"Come out here for a minute?" she offered.

"I'll see you later then," Hestia said, and hugged Lily quickly, "Behave, and I will see you at home," she said sternly. Everyone laughed, but Lily knew her 'behave' translated to 'do not cry in front of James'. Lily nodded and Hestia smiled, kissed her best friend on the side of the head, gave her boyfriend a quick peck, and disapparated. Lily turned to Emily, not looking at any of the boys, who were looking at her like she was a bloody crystal orb, and walked over to Emily.

"You next," she growled at James before shutting the door. She led Lily over to her little cubicle, and conjured up another chair, which Lily sat down on, "Explain," she said simply. Lily frowned, bewildered, and Emily sighed, "Sirius told me," she explained, and Lily nodded.

"Then you probably know more than I do," Lily said quietly, and Emily's eyes softened.

"So it really happened the way Sirius said it did?" she asked, and Lily nodded, holding back tears. If crying in front of James would be bad, crying in front of his mum would be worse, "You can go back now sweetheart, send him here," she said in a harsh voice. Lily nodded and stood up, and walked back to the Academy room. She walked in and saw James standing talking to Sirius in a corner. She walked over to Remus and tapped his shoulder.

"Hello," he said cheerfully as he saw who had tapped him. Lily smiled slightly and then cleared her throat.

"Er, can you tell J-Potter that Emily wants to talk to him?" she said, and Remus looked down at her for a few minutes, before shaking his head.

"Tell him yourself, I'm not your owl," he said. Lily opened her mouth but Remus held up his hand, "Lily, you have to deal with it," he said, "I don't want us all to be divided because of this." Lily sighed and nodded. Remus hugged her briefly before pushing her off in James and Sirius's direction. She walked over, her stomach performing back flips like a muggle acrobat. Sirius stopped talking when she approached and grinned.

"Lily-flower!" he said happily, and Lily smiled slightly, "Oh look Moony needs me, Au Revoir!" he said, and pranced over to Remus, who was not even looking in his direction. Lily rolled her eyes, _subtle Sirius. _She looked up at James, who was looking at her.

"Er, your mum wants to talk to you," she said awkwardly to her shoes.

"What about?" he asked. He knew exactly what she wanted to talk about, but he wanted to keep up a conversation with Lily.

"No idea," she said, looking over towards the board.

"Really?" he asked, and saw the corner of her mouth twitch slightly

"No that's a lie," she said, and then looked up, meeting his eyes, and abruptly wished she hadn't. She looked away quickly, "Bye," she said, and then began to walk away.

"Lils,"

"Don't call me that," she said harshly, and James bit his lip

"I always call you that"

"That was before"

"Before what?"

"Just before okay!"

"That's not an answer!"

"Yes it bloody is!"

"No it's not!" The two were yelling at each other by now, and the whole class had turned to look at them. Lily flushed slightly and cleared her throat.

"Whatever," she said quietly, "Just, please, don't," she said. She turned away but James quickly walked in front of her, stopping her, "What?" she asked, and James continued to look down at her, "What?" she asked again.

"Can we be friends?" he asked softly, and Lily blinked.

"Why?" she asked, bewildered, and James smirked.

"Why not?"

"Don't be smart with me Potter," she hissed, and James's eyes turned hurt.

"Can you call me James?" he asked, and Lily shrugged. James huffed and grabbed her elbow, dragging her out of the room. Emily looked over at him harshly, standing next to Daniel, and he winced, "I'm scared," he whimpered, and Lily bit back a laugh, "I'll be there in a minute!" he yelled, and then herded Lily in the opposite direction.

James turned her into Daniel's cubicle and then cast a_ muffliato_ charm on the doorway. He turned to face Lily, who was leaning awkwardly on the desk.

"What?" she asked, exasperated, after he watched her for a little while.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said, and Lily rolled her eyes

"You realize my voice works there as well," she said, gesturing to the door to Auror Academy, and James bit back a laugh.

"Different kind of talking," he said, walking towards her. Lily's heartbeat sped up to incredible rates and her stomach flipped, but James only leaned on the desk next to her. Lily looked down at her fingernails, which Hestia wanted to fix with all her heart, and James looked down at the curtain of red hair that was blocking his view of her face. He brushed her hair over her shoulder so he could see her face, and Lily jumped back a foot, "Sorry," he said quietly, realizing his mistake, and Lily settled herself down on the chair. James sighed and ran his hand through his hair, and Lily felt the urge to walk over and do the same, but wrapped her arms firmly around her knees.

"You wanted to talk?" she whispered. James looked up into her eyes and Lily almost crumbled at the pain she could see in his own.

"I want us to be friends," he said, and Lily's eyes hardened.

"So you chucked me so we could be friends?" she asked irritably, and James's eyes narrowed.

"Enough!" he yelled, walking over to Lily and putting both his hands on the armrests of the chair, trapping her, "Enough fighting! Don't make me sound like a bloody criminal! I did it for a reason!" he said.

"What's your reason?" she challenged

"I can't _tell _you! If I could, believe me I would! And if I had a way around it I would have done that!" Lily blinked up at him to see tears in his eyes, and bit her lip, feeling bad.

"Sorry," she said quietly, and James's eyes widened.

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked. Lily shrugged and he chuckled, "So can we please be friends?" he asked quietly. Lily looked into his hazel eyes, thinking.

"Can I think about it?" she asked, and James shook his head, causing Lily to laugh, "Fine," she said, and James smiled down at her. He stood up straight and held his hand out to her. Lily looked at it for a second before getting up herself. She could be friends with him, but being anywhere close to him would have to wait, "Good luck," she said, and James frowned as they exited the cubicle

"For what? I already had my practical," he said. Lily rolled her eyes and looked in the direction of Emily's cubicle, where she was glaring at her son. James gulped noisily, "Oh, right," he said, and then walked over to his parents. Lily turned and walked into Auror Academy, unaware of the fact that he had turned around to watch her go. With a small smile on his face, he walked over to his parents, the smile disappearing when he saw the expression on his mother's face.

* * *

"Hestia!" Lily screamed, as she walked out the doors to Auror Academy, only to crash into her friend, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm your best friend," Hestia shrugged. The boys had all run out at Lily's scream and were now looking at the two girls irritably, "This is what we do"

"Scare people?" Lily asked, and Hestia grinned, nodding, "I can apparate home by myself thanks," she said, and Hestia frowned.

"I'm sure you can," she said, and Lily narrowed her eyes at her best friend, "Why are you in such a good mood?" Hestia whispered, "Wait never mind tell me later," she said, and Lily smiled, "Hi!" she said happily, walking over to Sirius and wrapping her arms around his neck. Sirius grinned into the crook of her neck and kissed her lightly, before letting her go, "Did you look after my girl?" Hestia asked, and Sirius snorted.

"She can look after herself, I think she has to look after us," he said. Hestia giggled and kissed his cheek

"I'll see you later," she said, and then walked over to Lily

"When?" Sirius whined.

"Tonight"

"We have plans?" Sirius asked, confused.

"We do now," Hestia grinned, before taking her best friends hand and turning on the spot, "So what happened?" Hestia asked, as she flopped down onto the sofa in the television room.

"I talked to him," Lily said quietly, and Hestia's eyes widened.

"And?"

"We're friends," Lily said, confused, and Hestia nodded.

* * *

"Hello gorgeous," Sirius said, as Hestia arrived in his flat that night, dressed in skinny jeans and a flowy yellow top. Sirius's eyes gave her a once over and he grinned at her.

"I hope you're talking to me," she threatened, and walked over to him, grinning up at him. Sirius smiled down at her and dropped a kiss on her nose.

"No I'm talking to Moony," he said seriously. Remus snorted and Hestia jumped, turning around to see Remus and James sitting on their large leather couch. Hestia didn't even look at James, but she narrowed her eyes at Remus

"I see I have competition"

"No that's fine I'll let you have him," Remus said, and Hestia giggled, "Where's your other half?" he asked, as he noticed the question in James's face. James looked up at Remus gratefully and he winked.

"I was _going _to take her somewhere but she decided she had to study, but she was getting dressed, so I don't know," she frowned, "Actually wait here I'm going go check," she said worriedly, and disapparated.

Lily jumped as her best friend suddenly appeared in her room, "What are you doing?" Hestia asked.

"I'm getting ready," Lily said simply, and Hestia frowned.

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere of consequence"

"Lily,"

"It doesn't matter Hestia," Lily said, and walked into her bathroom. Hestia huffed and disapparated. She landed in front of Sirius once again, and he grinned down at her.

"And?"

"She won't tell me! She's getting ready to go 'nowhere of consequence' and then when I ask her again she walks into the loo and shuts the door. Extremely irritating," Hestia grumbled, and Sirius chuckled, "She'll be fine," Hestia shrugged, and then took Sirius's hand, "So where are we going?"

"I didn't know we were going anywhere until two hours ago!"

"Fine," Hestia grinned, and disapparated, taking Sirius with her. Once they were gone, James looked up at Remus, and Remus sighed.

"Are you going to go check, or are you going to ask me to?" James grinned and Remus sighed, "Be right back," he said, tossing his cards down on the couch, before disapparating.

Lily jumped as yet another person appeared in her room, "What Hest?" she asked. She looked over and almost jumped as she saw Remus, "Oh! Hi," she grinned. Remus laughed and looked down at her outfit. She was wearing jeans and a camisole.

"Where are you going?"

"Did she send you?" Lily grumbled, and Remus shook his head; that was the truth.

"I just wanted to say hi, but now I see you're going somewhere, so I asked," he shrugged. Lily nodded and turned back to the mirror, hairbrush in hand.

"I'm going out"

"I figured," he snorted, and Lily grinned, "Where is out?"

"You wont tell?" she asked, and Remus shook his head, confused, "I'm going to talk to Dumbledore," she said. Remus's eyebrows rose.

"About what?"

"Now _that _I'm not going to tell you," she said. Remus sighed and opened his mouth, but Lily looked at him, "Not going to happen Remus"

"Fine," he sighed, and then hugged her, "I should go, test tomorrow and all," he said. Lily nodded and Remus disapparated.

"What?" James asked, leaning forward.

"Let me catch my breath!"

"No!" James said, exasperated, "What did she say?"

"Why didn't you go ask her?" James gave Remus a deadpan look, and Remus grinned cheekily, "Right, you're in love with her," he teased, and James flushed slightly.

"I miss her," he said, and Remus nodded sympathetically, "Don't you miss Tonks?" Remus looked at him incredulously and James snorted, "Moony you're my best mate, you think I don't know you?"

"Well yes, I do actually," said Remus, "I went to visit her for her Hogsmeade trip."

"What?" James asked, "And you didn't tell us?"

"I didn't think you'd want to know," Remus said awkwardly, and James rolled his eyes

"Okay we'll discuss this in a minute. Where's she going?"

"She said to talk to Dumbledore"

"What about?" James asked, eyebrows up, and Remus shrugged.

"She wouldn't tell me anything else,"

"Oh, okay," said James, frowning, "So what's up with Tonks?" he asked, turning back to Remus, both interested to hear this, as well as get his mind off the redhead.

* * *

"Really Hest?" Sirius chuckled, looking around the Three Broomsticks.

"Yes really!" Hestia squealed, grabbing her boyfriends' hand, "I love it here!"

"Same," he nodded, looking around at the familiar booths and the bar. Sirius put his arm around Hestia's shoulders, and then walked over to the bar. They bought Butterbeers, well, Sirius bought them and Hestia pouted because he wouldn't let her pay, and walked back to their booth.

"No!" Hestia squealed, as Sirius reached over to grab some of the food she had. She pushed the plate out of his reach and Sirius snorted. He reached over her and the two had a fight over the plate. After a while, Hestia gave up and let her boyfriend eat, "You're impossible," she grumbled. Sirius grinned and leaned over, kissing her softly

"Am I still impossible?" he asked cheekily. Hestia sighed and looked at him

"Do you think you can get out of everything by just-" Sirius's lips crashed down on her's again and Hestia smiled against his lips.

"Yes I do," he said, leaning back. Hestia rolled her eyes and leaned on his shoulder, leaning her head on his shoulder. Sirius turned to look out the window and yelped

"What?" Hestia asked.

"What's she doing here?" he asked. Hestia turned around and her eyes widened as she saw Lily walking up the street to Hogwarts.

"What _is _she doing here?" she asked. Hestia made to stand up but Sirius grabbed her hand.

"Let her do whatever," he said gently, and Hestia frowned.

"Why?"

"Because, she's upset. Let her deal with it," he shrugged, and Hestia sighed

"When did you get so wise?"

"I was always wise," he snorted, and Hestia giggled.

* * *

"Come in," Dumbledore said, and Lily pushed the door to his office open, "Ah, Ms Evans! To what do I owe this honour?" he asked, as he stood up, his arms spread wide. Lily smiled slightly

"Hello Professor, I hope it's not a bad time," she said, and Dumbledore shook his head.

"Not at all Ms. Evans, please have a seat," he said, gesturing to the chair in front of him. Lily smiled and took the seat in front of his desk, and only after she'd sat down did Dumbledore, "Pepper Imp?" he offered, holding a bowl out to her, and Lily smiled.

"No thank you," she said.

"I wouldn't either, nasty little creatures," he said, placing the bowl down, "So, Ms. Evans, I take it there was a reason you came here today?" he asked, and Lily nodded.

"I was wondering if I could go out on missions for the order," she said quickly. She had been thinking about that ever since the breakup. She needed things to keep her mind off of James, and concentrating on different things was the best, and as she had learned, fighting required a lot of concentration. Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up

"Ms. Evans this is abrupt, may I ask what brought this on?" he asked politely, and Lily shrugged.

"I want to help," she said simply, and Dumbledore nodded solemnly

"Ms. Evans this is not a light decision," he said cautiously, "This is dangerous, more so for you as you are, in fact, muggleborn," he said. Lily just looked at him with clear eyes.

"I know sir, but I do want to help," she repeated, and Dumbledore sighed.

"How does Mr. Potter feel about this?" he asked, and Lily bit her lip

"We, er, broke up," she said, and Dumbledore looked at her, shocked.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said curiously, "May I know why?"

"I don't," she said, laughing hollowly, "You'll have to ask Potter," she said. Dumbledore nodded, suspicious, and then turned to look at her.

"Are you making this decision because of that?" he asked softly, and when Lily closed her eyes, he had his answer, "That's no reason to do this"

"I'm sorry sir, but I still want to do this," she said. Dumbledore nodded solemnly and sighed.

"Alright Ms. Evans, I'll alert you for the next mission," he said, and Lily smiled at him.

"Thank you sir," she said. Dumbledore smiled at her slightly and Lily sauntered out of his office. She walked out to Hogsmeade, and disapparated back to her flat. She landed to see Hestia sitting in the living room, tapping her foot on the floor. She looked down at her watch and was honestly shocked. According to the time, she'd been with Dumbledore for over half and hour.

"What were you doing in Hogsmeade?" Hestia asked. Lily looked at Sirius, who was sitting next to Hestia, and he shot her an apologetic look.

"I was, erm, doing something," Lily said, untying her hair. Hestia glared at her.

"That's not an answer"

"I'm going to go," Sirius said. He kissed Hestia's cheek, and waved at Lily, before disapparating. Lily turned back to Hestia, who was furious.

"What were you doing there?"

"Why are you so angry?" Lily asked in a small voice, and Hestia huffed

"Because I was worried about you! You've been crushed about Potter and then you suddenly leave for a mystery trip and go to Hogsmeade of all places? What were you doing?"

"I went to talk to Dumbledore," Lily blurted out, and Hestia's eyes widened

"Why?"

"I had a request," she said, and Hestia's eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"I, er, signed up," Lily said. Hestia's eyes narrowed to slits and Lily knew she had figured it out.

"How dare you! You signed up to spy?" she shrieked. Lily bit her lip and nodded, "Why?"

"I-"

"That's no reason! Bloody hell Lily you're so stupid! Why would you do that to me? Now I have to worry about you _and _Sirius?" she shrieked. Lily gulped and looked at her friend with sorry eyes

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and Hestia huffed

"You better be! I hope you recover from this quickly," she muttered, and pulled Lily into a hug.

"Mood swings?" Lily chuckled, and Hestia snorted.

"PMS," she muttered.

"Sorry"

"Whatever," Hestia said, and fell onto the sofa.

* * *

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Lily jumped as she walked into Auror Academy two days later to see Sirius, fuming, walking over to her.

"I don't know, what did I do?" she asked. Sirius stopped in front of her, seething.

"You signed up?" he hissed. Lily flushed and nodded, "WHY?"

"Why are you yelling at her?" James asked irritably, walking over to the two. Sirius looked down at Lily and then sighed.

"She told Hestia I hated orange," Sirius said, and James snorted.

"That's the truth"

"Shut it," Sirius said. James walked away and Lily looked up at Sirius

"Thanks"

"I didn't do it for you," he grumbled, putting his arm around her shoulders, "And if you get hurt I will kill you myself"

"Deal,"

* * *

A few weeks later, things between Lily and James were the same, and Lily was depressed to no end. She had figured they'd get back together like they had back in Hogwarts, but she realized the difference; she had broken up with him, so it had been entirely her decision.

Lily moped about the flat during the weekends and after Academy. There had been no message from Dumbledore, and she had thought that maybe he had seen through her, and wasn't going to send her a mission.

"I need him to send me a mission," Lily whined, sitting next to Hestia on the sofa in the television room.

"Well I think you need a boyfriend," Hestia declared, and Lily looked at her incredulously

"Are you joking?"

"No," Hestia said bluntly, "There are a lot of people who want to date you." That was a fact. Lily had been offered thrice since the breakup, but she had turned them all down.

"I don't want to," Lily said, and Hestia huffed

"Lily, you cant stay hung up on him! You need to move on! And the best way to do something, is by doing it!"

"That makes no sense"

"Lily," Hestia said, and Lily sighed, "That's it, I'm taking you out right now, let's go," she said. Lily shook her head quickly but Hestia grabbed her hand and disapparated. They landed in a wizard bar, and Lily glared at Hestia, but Hestia dragged her into a bathroom. Hestia pointed her wand at Lily, and Lily found herself dressed in a black dress that came to her mid thigh and her hair was straight.

"Really?" she hissed. Hestia nodded, and after checking herself, they walked out of the bathroom, Lily being dragged by Hestia.

"Evans?" she turned quickly to see a boy in her Auror class standing there, looking at her incredulously, Firewhisky in hand.

"Hi," she said, and he grinned. Lily looked up into his face and internally crumbled. He was perfect, he really was. He was tall, handsome, intelligent, and funny, from what she had seen of him in class.

_He's not James_, she thought, and felt her eyes prickle. It had been three weeks since they'd broken up, but she still hadn't been able to think of anything else. James was the only thing on her mind.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, and Lily shrugged.

"My friend dragged me out," she said. He nodded and then opened his mouth to say something, but Lily cut across him, "Actually I have to leave now, see you tomorrow," she said quickly, and ran away from him. She found Hestia at the bar and grabbed her arm, disapparating.

"What?" Hestia spluttered as she found herself in her living room

"I cant do this," Lily whimpered, transfiguring her clothes back into her pajamas, and falling onto the sofa.

"What cant you do?" Hestia asked gently, "He was great Lily"

"But, he's not…he's not…" Lily's lip puckered and Hestia pulled her into a hug. She hadn't been aware of exactly how hurt Lily had been, and how much pain she had been in. By the look of Lily right now, Hestia internally cursed herself for not being a better friend. She should have realized this was hard for Lily. She should have realized that Lily truly did love James.

"Stay here," Hestia said, suddenly having a strike of brilliance. She let go of Lily and jumped up, disapparating. Lily stared at the wall and felt tears flow down her cheeks, wondering what James was doing right now.

* * *

"James!"

"Yes mum?" James asked, as he looked over at his mother. He was having dinner at the Potter Mansion, and had sobbed in his room remembering the last time he had been there.

"You have to put an end to this!" Emily shrieked, throwing her fork down. Daniel watched his wife in awe, and leaned back.

"Put an end to what?"

"James! You're going back to what you were before her!" she yelled, "After Alissa! No! I can't have you like that again!" she sobbed. She threw down her fork and almost ran out of the room.

* * *

Lily jumped as arms wrapped around her. Expecting Hestia, she jumped as she saw her mother standing there, looking down at her worriedly.

"Mum?" she squeaked, wiping the tears from her face. Jane looked down at her daughter sadly, and sat down next to her. She held her arms open and Lily's lip puckered. She leaned into her mother and let the tears flow.

"Sweetheart what happened?" Jane asked gently, stroking her daughters' hair, which was so like her. Lily continued to cry, and Jane continued to soothe her.

"I don't want to talk about it," Lily choked, and Jane nodded her understanding.

"Want to talk about something else?" Jane asked sweetly, and Lily nodded like a child, "I have something funny to say," she grinned. Lily looked at her mother and Jane looked down into her daughter's lifeless eyes, "Marge's dog, you know, Vernon's sister, yes, her dog Ripper peed on Petunia's sofa," she said. Lily burst out laughing and Jane smiled.

"She must have gone crazy," Lily said fondly, and Jane nodded.

"She did, I had a long phone call with her about it. And then, also, when we visited them," Jane said, and Lily paid close attention, "We were eating dinner, and Vernon stretched, and his button popped off his shirt, hitting your father's forehead," she said. Lily and Jane were laughing so hard, when Sirius and James arrived; they were momentarily shocked to see Lily with a smile on her face. Jane and Lily seemed to realize they weren't alone, and Hestia, who had been in her room, walked out and narrowed her eyes as she saw who was with her boyfriend.

"What are you doing here?" she asked irritably, walking over to the two boys.

"Hest," Lily said, but Hestia ignored her.

"I'm sorry we're busy right now," she said nastily, and James looked over at Lily sadly.

"Hest," Sirius said, and Hestia sighed.

"I should go," Jane said, standing up quickly. Lily looked up at her mother, not wanting her to leave. It was childish, yes, but she felt so much better with her mother.

"No!" Lily whimpered, and Jane smiled down at her daughter

"You can come visit any time," she said, and kissed her daughter's forehead.

"I'll drop you home," Lily said, but Hestia snorted

"No, I'm doing it," she said, and Lily frowned at her.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to go seduce your father, happy?" she teased. Lily rolled her eyes and Jane laughed. She took Hestia's hand and braced herself, before Hestia turned on the spot. Lily shook her head and then froze as she realized she was alone with Sirius and James.

"So this is awkward," Sirius said, and Lily smirked.

"Nice," she said, and James chuckled. Sirius shrugged and snickered.

"I'll leave," he said, and Lily's eyes widened.

"No!" she yelled, and the two boys looked at her, "Fine, whatever," she huffed, and walked into her room. Sirius clapped James on the back and disapparated. James walked slowly over to Lily's room and cautiously pushed the door open to see Lily sitting on her bed, looking down at a photo album. He looked around the room, and felt his stomach flip. He'd missed it.

Lily looked up and flushed slightly, "Hi," James said quietly, and Lily looked at him for a few more seconds, before looking back down at her album, "What you looking at?" he asked.

"The album Hest gave me for Christmas," she said, and James nodded.

"Can I?" he asked. Lily looked at him and then nodded slightly. James walked over and sat down on the bed, looking down at the album. He saw a picture of Lily and Hestia in their second year, and grinned.

"What?" Lily asked, and James shook his head.

"I forgot what you used to look like," he chuckled, and Lily smiled slightly.

"I look like a dork," she said bluntly, and James snorted.

"No you don't," he said, "You look adorable"

"Er, thanks," Lily said quietly, flushing. James looked over at her and saw a tear roll down her cheek.

"Lils," he said, and Lily turned to look at him. James wiped her tear away and another one sprung up, "Please don't," he whispered. Lily blinked rapidly and then pushed herself off the bed. She walked to her closet and pulled out his jersey. James gasped as he saw it and looked up at her as she looked down at it. She pulled out another shirt, which James recognized as the ones she wore to his Quidditch games back in Hogwarts. Lily turned to James and threw them at him, "N-no," he said, pushing them off him as if they physically burned him.

"They're yours," Lily said

"We've been over this, these belong to you," he said, and waved his wand, the shirts appearing in her closet. Lily's lip puckered and she turned to look at him

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"Doing what?" he asked. Lily ignored him and walked over to her bed, sitting down in her recently vacated spot, "What am I doing?" he asked, and Lily glared at him.

"You're confusing me!" she choked out. James looked at her and she turned to look at him, "You break up with me, then you decide you want to be friends, and then it get's really awkward, and now you do _this_?"

"Lils," he said quietly, and Lily turned to look him in the eye, "I wish I hadn't," he said, and Lily rolled her eyes

"That's getting old James. Why cant you just say you wanted to and then be done with it?" she asked irritably

"Because that's not true!" he growled, and Lily just looked at him. James huffed and stood up, "Do you believe me?" he asked. Lily looked at him for a few moments, before shaking her head. Hurt, and irritated, James disapparated.

Lily walked over to her dresser, wiping her eyes, and looked down at the letter lying on it. She picked it up and a smile spread across her face.

_Dear Ms. Evans,_

_You said you wanted to be alerted of the next mission. I would appreciate it if you would be up to a mission tomorrow night. Please meet at the Headquarters tomorrow at 4pm if you are able to go on the mission._

_Albus Dumbledore_

_

* * *

Dear Mr. Potter_

_There is a mission tomorrow night. Mr. Black will not assist you tomorrow, however, you have another partner. Please meet at the Headquarters at 4pm tomorrow._

_Albus Dumbledore_

**

* * *

Hello everybody! Thank you for reviewing and reading! **


	8. Mission

**You're welcome (:**

**

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter…please don't sue me. **

_**

* * *

Previously:**_

_Dear Ms. Evans,_

_You said you wanted to be alerted of the next mission. I would appreciate it if you would be up to a mission tomorrow night. Please meet at the Headquarters tomorrow at 4pm if you are able to go on the mission._

_Albus Dumbledore_

_

* * *

Dear Mr. Potter_

_There is a mission tomorrow night. Mr. Black will not assist you tomorrow, however, you have another partner. Please meet at the Headquarters at 4pm tomorrow._

_Albus Dumbledore_

* * *

"What?" Hestia asked, as Lily handed her the letter from Dumbledore, "But, what, why, what?" Hestia spluttered, and Lily frowned at her

"You knew about this," Lily said uncertainly, and Hestia's eyes flashed

"Yes I did! But you're better now!" Hestia squeaked, "I thought it was because you were upset!"

"I'm not better," Lily said, and Hestia sighed

"I know that, but,"

"Hest, I am doing this," Lily hissed, and Hestia glared at her best friend.

"I am _not _letting you go out on a mission to Voldemort by yourself!"

"I'm going with a partner!"

"What?" Hestia asked.

"You go on missions with partners," Lily said, and Hestia frowned

"How do you know?"

"I just assumed, since Sirius went with a partner," she said. She had taken to not saying James's name unless absolutely necessary. Hestia huffed and crossed her arms

"If there is no partner, who is adequate, you are not going," Hestia said sternly. Lily rolled her eyes but nodded, "I am not happy with you," Hestia grumbled. Lily smiled at her best friend and wound her elbow through hers.

"If Sirius can do it, so can I," she grinned. A traitorous giggle escaped Hestia, and she turned to look at her best friend.

"If Sirius can do it, anyone can," Hestia laughed, and Lily laughed along with her. When they had stopped laughing, Hestia wiped her eyes, "I am serious though,"

"You are?"

"Lily!" Hestia laughed and Lily chuckled, "But I'm not kidding about this, you _have _to be careful, and if you're going by yourself, then you are not going. End of story. I don't care _what _you tell Dumbledore, but if you're going alone then you are coming right back here," Hestia said sternly, "Understand?" Lily bit her lip, and finally gave in under her friend's abnormally stern gaze.

"Fine," she sighed. Hestia grinned happily and then narrowed her eyes suspiciously

"How do I know you'll do it?"

"Hest!" Lily groaned, only to be ignored by Hestia

"No, I'm going to go check," Hestia declared, and before Lily could say anything, she disapparated. Hestia landed in Hogsmeade to see Sirius walking up to Hogwarts, "Sirius!" she yelled. Sirius turned around, stunned, and grinned as he realized whom it was

"Hey babe," he smiled, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug, burying his face in her neck. Hestia smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, as she pulled back from him, smiling up into his face.

"I have to talk to Dumbledore," he said, suddenly irritated

"What's wrong?" she asked gently, and Sirius shook his head.

"Nothing, not important, why are you here?" he asked, and Hestia grinned.

"Same reason,"

"What happened with you?" he asked, as he took her hand and the two made their way up to the castle

"Nothing, not important," she echoed, and Sirius barked a laugh.

"You here for Dumby as well?"

"Sirius!"

"Yes?" he said cheekily, and Hestia rolled her eyes.

"Yes I am." By this time they'd reached the stone gargoyle outside Dumbledores office

"Crap, what's the password?" Sirius asked, frustrated.

"I have no idea," Hestia mumbled.

"Merlin's smelliest boxers how do we get in there?" Sirius whined, and Hestia giggled slightly. Suddenly the staircase started to move and they both burst into laughter.

"_That_ was the password?" Hestia wheezed, pulling her boyfriend onto the moving staircase.

"Apparently," Hestia grinned, and Sirius squeezed her hand. They stepped off the stairs to see the door to Dumbledore's office door open, and Dumbledore standing there, slightly amused

"Hello Albus!" Sirius said jauntily, and Hestia rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. Honestly, that dog didn't know what respect was.

"Hello Sirius," Dumbledore chuckled, and moved aside to let them into the office, "And that wasn't my password," he added, and Sirius pouted slightly. It was a cool password. Dumbledore shut the door behind them and walked over behind his desk, gesturing to the two chairs in front of him. Sirius opened his mouth to begin but Dumbledore held up his finger, "Do not think I don't know what you two are here to discuss," he said, piercing them with his blue eyes.

"Well," Hestia said after being x-rayed for five awkward silent minutes

"I have a plan."

* * *

Lily arrived at the Order Headquarters twenty minutes before she was supposed to. She was so nervous, and she wanted to find out who her partner was. She didn't put it past Hestia, whom she hadn't seen since their argument, to withdraw her from the mission if she didn't approve. Lily walked down the corridor of the empty house and entered the room where they had had their meeting previously. It was empty, which was really starting to scare her. To be safe, she pulled her wand out and held it in her hand.

Yes, she knew there were no Death Eaters in the Headquarters, but the eerie silence was starting to mess with her imagination. There was a creak behind her and she turned quickly, her eyes widening.

"Relax dear," the woman said, taking a step towards her, "I'm Andromeda," she said politely. Lily sighed and held her hand out.

"Sorry I thought you were-"

"Bellatrix? Yes people tend to get us mixed up, she's my sister," she said, and Lily frowned. What?

"I don't understand," Lily said apologetically, and Andromeda laughed lightly

"You know Sirius Black right?" she asked, and Lily nodded, "He's my nephew, I'm Nymphadora's mother, I know you know her," she said, and Lily smiled. So this was another Black who went good.

"It's so nice to meet you," Lily said politely, and Andromeda laughed

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Lily, Dora's told us so many good things about you," Andromeda smiled, and Lily flushed slightly

"Are you my partner for the mission?" Lily asked, and Andromeda shook her head.

"I've been banned by my husband," she chuckled, and Lily grinned, "I'm here to disguise you," she said, and Lily frowned.

"D-disguise?"

"We don't want the Death Eaters to know it's _you_, since you're muggleborn," she said, and Lily huffed

"Being muggleborn is irritating," she grumbled, and Andromeda laughed

"But it's an honour. I always respected muggleborns more than pure-bloods," she shrugged, and Lily smiled at her, "But this is a special circumstance. There was a request to disguise you," she said, and Lily rolled her eyes

"Was it, by any chance, made by Hestia Jones?" she asked irritably, and Andromeda smiled

"I'm not allowed to say," she said and Lily sighed, "We're not doing much, all we have to do is change the colour of your hair," she shrugged, and Lily nodded, "So I'll do that,"

"I can do it," Lily said earnestly, and Andromeda chuckled.

"I'm well aware that you are a fully qualified witch, but Dumbledore instructed me to do it," she smiled. Lily nodded and closed her eyes as Andromeda pulled her wand out. She could hear Andromeda muttering silently and wondered what she was doing to her hair, "Done," Andromeda said. Lily opened her eyes and grabbed a strand of hair. It was jet black, like James's hair. And it was straight.

"Thanks," Lily smiled, and Andromeda grinned.

"I had to change your eyebrows as well, because they weren't matching, so I hope you don't mind," she chuckled. Lily thanked Andromeda again, before the kind witch left.

Lily sighed and sat down at the large table, resting her elbows on it and playing with a strand of her abnormally straight black hair. She had always hated other coloured hair on her; red suited her. There was a creak behind her and footsteps sounded, walking down the hall. She looked at her watch quickly to see that it was exactly 4.

Show time.

"Ah, you're here," Dumbledore said, careful not to use her name, "Excellent, excellent. Well, your partner is waiting by the door, I instructed him to stay there," Dumbledore said, and Lily nodded, "Be careful," he said quietly. Lily looked over at him and nodded, "And I like the black hair, but I have to say you look better natural," he mused, and walked away. Lily giggled. Only Dumbledore was so odd. Lily followed him out into the corridor, looking down at the floor, unaware of whom the person in front of her was.

James looked at the girl walking towards him. Her hair was the exact same shade as his, and it was pin straight, reaching the middle of her back. He smiled slightly as she stumbled over a crack in the floor.

"This is your partner," Dumbledore said, watching the two warily. The girl in front of James raised her eyes to look at him, and Dumbledore watched as both of them jumped as they recognized each other.

"Is this a joke?" Lily asked, turning to Dumbledore, "What's he doing here?"

"I have to agree, Lily, what the hell are _you_ doing here?" James hissed. Lily turned irritably to look at him.

"What do you mean what am _I _doing here?"

"Why are you going on the mission? It's far too dangerous!" he yelled. Dumbledore watched in amusement as the two got up in each other's faces, yelling.

"Excuse-me? Who are you to tell me what is too dangerous for me? If I recall correctly,"

"Don't you _dare _use the Auror thing as an excuse!"

"Why? Because that's proof that I'm perfectly capable of doing this?"

"You are not going! That is final!"

"You can't tell me what to do!"

"Watch me," James snarled, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him.

"I am going," she hissed.

"No you are not!"

"Why not?"

"You're muggleborn!"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You know _exactly _why that's significant!"

"This is not _your _decision to make!" Lily screeched. James glowered down at her and then turned to Dumbledore, who quickly wiped the smirk off his face.

"Can you send Lily back to her flat?" James asked in a controlled voice, and Lily hissed.

"Sorry Mr. Potter but she signed up for this weeks ago," Dumbledore said in a neutral voice, and James turned to glare at Lily, who ignored him

"You did _what_?"

"Can you not _hear _Potter?" James opened his mouth to yell at her but Dumbledore cleared his throat

"I don't see the point in arguing, there is an important mission at hand, and James you are not permitted to go alone," Dumbledore said with an air of finality. James glowered down at Lily, who glowered back, slightly smug, "You both know where to go?" Dumbledore asked. Lily nodded and James crossed his arms, "Good, now, you'll have to apparate together," said Dumbledore, and James huffed.

"I don't want her to come," James said, and Lily felt her stomach drop

"Well I don't want to go with _you_," Lily hissed back, but James ignored her

"James," Dumbledore said slightly sternly. James sighed and gave in.

"Fine," he grumbled. Lily smiled triumphantly and James felt the urge to punch something. Dumbledore nodded happily.

"Good, just wait for a moment," he said, before turning around and vanishing down a corridor, leaving the couple alone to be engulfed in their awkward silence

"I can't believe you signed up," James hissed, and Lily rolled her eyes, not saying anything, "So you're not talking now?" he asked irritably, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"I'll talk to you when I have to," she said, her voice layered with anger, but James could hear her hurt underneath. James opened his mouth to say something, but was, fortunately, stopped by the arrival of Dumbledore.

"You may go now," he said, and they nodded, but didn't move, "You have to apparate together, so I suggest you hold on to each other," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching. Lily didn't move, her heart beating a hundred miles an hour without her permission, and James, whose heart was doing similar things, huffed and walked over to her. He held his hand out and Lily looked down at it for a few moments, before taking it.

She had to restrain a sigh of contentment as she felt his familiar calloused hand wrapped around hers. She hadn't realized her hand had been so lonely. Poor hand.

"Good luck," Dumbledore said, and they turned on the spot, vanishing.

"I _told _you the disguise was a good idea! He was totally caught of guard!" Sirius yelled happily, walking out from behind a wall, holding Hestia's hand. Dumbledore chuckled lightly and walked away from yet _another _lovers quarrel.

* * *

When they landed, Lily quickly dropped his hand. She couldn't afford to lose herself to him again. It hurt too much when he was gone. James, on the other hand, had to restrain a protest when she let go of his hand. He had missed her so much.

"This way," he whispered, and Lily rolled her eyes, causing him to smirk.

"I know," she grumbled, looking around warily as they made their way over to a good spot where they could hear the meeting that they had been informed was taking place. James was looking around, panicked. What if one of the Death Eaters realized there was a muggleborn out here?

She stopped suddenly and turned around, her hair, which James didn't like black, slapping him in the face.

James spluttered and Lily smirked, "What?" he asked quietly.

"Do you have your cloak?" she whispered, and James nodded.

"Scared Evans?" he teased, and Lily rolled her eyes

"No, I just don't fancy dying and having to face the wrath of Hestia," she said, and James chuckled. Lily's stomach flipped as she saw his familiar carefree smile. She had only asked for the invisibility cloak so nobody would find him. James pulled the cloak out and handed it to Lily.

"Here you go," he whispered, and Lily rolled her eyes. She opened it carefully, aware of James's eyes on her, and handed it to him, "Don't you want to use it?" he asked, confused, and a grin spread across Lily's face, causing James's heart to speed up, "Lily Evans is that a smile I see?" he asked, and Lily smiled.

That was what he had said to her back on the Hogwarts Express at the beginning of their seventh year. James, remembering, sighed nostalgically. Life had been so much easier back then.

"We're both using it," she said, and James rolled his eyes

"No, only one of us is using it"

"Alright, then I'll go like this," she shrugged,

"I meant _you _were wearing it," he hissed, and Lily shook her head, turning away from him, "Lily!" She turned around and looked at him, her eyes daring him to tell her once more, "Fine," he huffed. Lily walked over to him and he put the cloak over the two of them. Lily shuddered slightly at their close proximity, and James internally cursed himself for giving in. She was standing way too close for him to think coherent thoughts.

"Um," Lily said quietly, "Let's go," she said, looking anywhere but at him. There was a rustle behind them and Lily turned her head so quickly that her irritating black hair hit him in the face. The Orchid shampoo took James off guard and it finally hit him that it was really Lily standing next to him. He grabbed her elbow and pulled her closer to him, as the few Death Eaters who had graduated with them walked by, talking animatedly about a muggle killing spree.

Lily slowly looked up at James, who was looking after them with angry eyes. She admired the way his jaw curved, the straightness of his nose, the curve of his lips, his stupid messy hair, and the individual specks of colour in his hazel eyes. James, feeling her gaze on him, looked down, meeting her gaze, and Lily looked away quickly. Bloody hell.

"Come on," he said after a moment of awkward silence, and they followed the Death Eaters. They walked inside the shack the meeting was happening in, and stood with their backs against the wall as the Death Eaters walked in through a door.

"My Lord, I don't understand, why are you taking such an interest in the Potter boy?" Lily and James froze, and Lily turned towards the sound of the voice with worried eyes, whilst James listened intently.

"What I do is my business," the high voice said, and Lily shuddered slightly at the sound.

"Forgive me, My Lord"

"You," there was a squeak, "Explain"

"Potter is a pureblood, the last of a long line of them," the voice said, and James's nose wrinkled in disgust.

"What does this have to do with the mudblood?" Lily froze and turned to look up into James's face.

"What happened with the mudblood?"

"The Dark Lord broke them up," another voice cackled, and Lily felt her insides melt. What? James's eyes had closed and his hands were shaking slightly, waiting for the reason why Voldemort had done this.

"We can't have a prestigious pureblood line deteriorate because of one mistake," a voice added, and James felt his jaw clench as snickers responded to this statement

"The mudblood had to go."

"How did you manage that?" the familiar drawl of Lucius Malfoy asked, and Lily could hear the smirk in his voice

"It was very simple, all that had to be done was the boy had to be convinced that as long as he stayed with the filth, the more danger it would be in," a voice answered, and they all cackled with mad laughter. Lily looked up into James's face to see a tear roll down his cheek.

A huge wave of guilt flooded over Lily. He had been protecting her and she had been terrible. Lily reached up and wiped the tear away gently. James's eyes flew open and he looked down into Lily's. There was a bang and the both jumped, expecting to see Voldemort or at least a few Death Eaters looking at them, but the noise had come from within.

"Enough," the high voice said, and there was silence. Lily huffed and turned around, facing the wall, and pulled out her wand. She waved it around and a spot in front of her face went transparent, but would be a wall from the other side. Lily had always thought of the spell as the muggle mirror where you could see a mirror on one side and someone could see you from the other. James smirked as a transparent area appeared in front of his own face. There were so many advantages to working with Lily.

Voldemort was sitting on one end of a long table, surrounded by Death Eaters. Lily felt her stomach clench as she saw just how many of them were present. If they were found, they wouldn't make it out alive.

"What will the mudblood do?" Voldemort asked, turning to face a Death Eater, whose back was to them.

"My Lord, I don't think that this will change the Potter boy's mind on joining us," another voice cut in, and Voldemort turned to him with angry eyes.

"It wasn't you who I addressed Goyle," Voldemort hissed, his eyes flashing. Voldemort turned back to face the first Death Eater, "You surely know what she will do, Severus."

Lily gasped as Voldemort said the name, and Voldemort turned his head quickly in the direction of them. James frowned slightly, you couldn't hear through the invisibility cloak.

James looked down at Lily and felt his stomach drop. She had stepped too far from him, and was in complete view.

"What was that?" Voldemort hissed, standing up and walking swiftly over to them. James grabbed the frozen Lily's arm and dragged her under the invisibility cloak. She hid her face in his chest, scared, and James put his arms around her protectively. Voldemort suddenly appeared right next to them, a few Death Eaters standing around him. Lily flicked her wand quickly and the transparent spots disappeared before Voldemort could see them. Voldemort's eyes went out of focus and then quickly came back, "There's no one here," he said calmly, and walked back into the large room, followed by Death Eaters. James smirked slightly and then looked down at Lily, who was shaking.

Seeing Voldemort had brought back Lily's memories of being tortured in Hogsmeade. The second he had come into view her heart had stopped and she had felt a cold sweat break out.

James, guessing this, rubbed her arms soothingly, "Should we go?" he whispered. Lily continued shaking, and James nodded, taking that as a yes. He held her protectively and disapparated quickly.

"Wormtail, go check and see what that was?" Voldemort hissed, and Peter Pettigrew came around the corner, and looked into the now empty air.

"Nothing here My Lord"

* * *

"Lils," James said quietly, as they landed. Lily opened her eyes, still under the cloak, and looked around the Auror Headquarters. James's arms were still wrapped around her shoulders protectively, and when Lily looked up at him, he released her softly, and Lily felt her sorrow well up after what she had heard.

"I-I'm sorry," Lily whispered, and James frowned down at her.

"For what?"

"Y-you were j-just trying to keep me s-safe," Lily started in a choked voice, the lump in her throat audible. James put his finger on her lips before she could say anything else and looked down at her with his beautiful hazel eyes.

"Lils don't," he whispered, wiping away a tear that had escaped her eyes. Another one escaped and James wiped it away. When yet another one fell down her face James chuckled slightly, "I should have your tear ducts removed," he teased, and Lily chuckled slightly.

"Hest already had them removed in our fifth year," she choked, and James rolled his eyes

"It wasn't successful," he said in a matter-of-fact tone, and Lily glared up at him.

"I think you're the reason they grew," she grumbled, and James raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't do anything!"

"You made me fall for you!" she hissed

"I did no such thing," he said, ignoring the glowing inside him, "That was entirely your fault"

"Bullshit," she said, and James smirked.

"Well yes I may have played a tiny part," he shrugged, and Lily sighed.

"We should get out," she said, prodding the invisibility cloak. She made to push it away but James's hand reached out and grasped her wrist

"Just one more thing," he said, and Lily smiled

"You know, it is possible to talk out there," she said, pointing to the outside of the invisibility cloak, and James snorted.

"Yes I am very aware, I just have to ask you something," he said

"Go ahead"

"Are we okay?" he asked quietly, and Lily looked at him curiously, her stomach flipping. Did he mean what she thought he meant?

"Define 'okay'," she said, and James ran his hand through his hair. Lily watched his hand in jealousy, wishing her hand had been able to do that.

"Well, I don't know," he said honestly, and Lily giggled, slightly light-headed.

"I do," she whispered, and James looked down at her, confused. Lily looked up into his hazel eyes and made her decision as soon as their eyes met. They continued to look at each other and James looked away after a while, unable to take it anymore.

"Right, er, I'm sor-" he started, but was cut off by soft lips, barely touching his own, but sending a jolt of Firewhisky through him. Lily got back down on her two feet when she realized he wasn't responding.

"I'm sorry! I mean, of course you just want to be friends and I didn't think to ask I'm sorry I just assumed-"

It was Lily's turn to be cut off as James's lips came crashing down on hers. Lily instinctually wrapped her arms around his neck and _finally _ran her fingers through his hair, pushing every available inch of her body against his. James had his hands on either side of her face, and moved them so that one of his hands was in her hair, and the other was tenderly against the small of her back. Lily felt the sides of James's lips turn up into a small smile, and felt intense joy bubble up inside of her.

They broke apart when they were in desperate need of oxygen, and Lily, blushing, looked up into his jubilant hazel eyes. James rested his forehead against hers and took a lock of her hair in his hands, playing with the end of it by her shoulder. Lily grinned at him and he felt his stomach flip.

"I've missed you," Lily said sweetly, as she twirled her fingers through his available hand. James smiled and held her hand gently.

"So I'm guessing we're okay then?" he whispered, and Lily giggled. James grinned and then his grin faltered slightly.

"What?" she asked gently, and James looked back into her eyes

"What if he hurts you?" James asked quietly, his voice layered with pain.

"That's my problem," Lily said defiantly. James opened his mouth to protest but Lily continued talking, slightly louder, "And to be honest James, I'd rather be with you and risk getting hurt than be away from you and be perfectly safe," she ended it quietly, feeling extremely vulnerable.

"Lils," James whispered, and Lily looked up at him, as if daring him to tell her otherwise, and James chuckled, "Alright, fine, we'll discuss that later," he said, and Lily grinned.

"There's nothing to discuss," she said sternly

"Okay," he brushed it off, knowing he would be bringing it up later whether she liked it or not

"Can I be your girlfriend again?" Lily asked, and James laughed.

"I thought we already clarified that," he said, brushing the back of his hand over her cheek, and Lily rolled her eyes, blushing slightly

"Actually, no we didn't," she said

"Well, I clarified it in my mind"

"That doesn't count," she pointed out, and James snorted

"Such a brilliant mind like this? Of course it counts!"

"It's a wonder you can get out of bed with such an inflated head," she teased, and James chuckled, and kissed her forehead.

"Welcome back Evans," he said, "Now I have a question to ask you."

"Yes, you can be my boyfriend again"

"Not what I was going to ask," he said, his stomach dancing around, "But thanks," he winked. Lily flushed slightly and James laughed, "I was going to ask what the bloody hell happened to your hair," he growled, eying the black rubbish on top if his gorgeous girlfriend's hair.

"Someone requested that I should be disguised," she said irritably, pulling her wand out. James grinned at her as she changed her eyebrows and hair back to normal, and sighed in contentment as his red head was in front of him finally.

"Much better," he whispered, twirling a lock of her normal, beautiful, auburn wavy hair in his fingers. Lily turned slightly and jumped, "What?" he asked, turning and grinned as he saw that they were not alone in the room. Sirius, Hestia and Dumbledore sat at the table.

"Should we let them know we're here?" Lily asked, and James snickered, shaking his head

"No I want to spy," he said, and Lily grinned.

"My thoughts precisely," she said, and pulled him closer to them. James put his arm around her shoulder and Lily leaned into him happily, feeling like she had finally come home after being gone.

"I hope it works!" Hestia squealed happily

"It should," Sirius said

"I believe it will work," Dumbledore said wisely, and Sirius threw Hestia a smug look

"What will work?" Lily whispered to James, who shrugged.

"Well obviously it will work, they're obviously still in love with each other," Hestia said, and the couple's eyebrows rose, "It was a brilliant plan"

"What? To have them set up as partners? Definitely," Sirius grinned, and then turned to Dumbledore, "Good work pal," he said, and Dumbledore chuckled lightly, "And my disguise idea worked wonders, I mean, Prongs didn't even _realize _it was her!"

Lily turned to James, who was staring at his friend with an amused, as well as irritated, expression. She nodded towards the cloak, and James grinned. He counted down from three, and they pulled the cloak off

"Yes and if he had kno-AAAAAH!" Sirius screamed, as the couple in question came into view

"You planned this?" James asked threateningly, crossing his arms.

"N-no he did!" Sirius squeaked, pointing at Dumbledore, who chuckled lightly.

"Who cares?" Hestia squealed, standing up and turning to look at her best friend, "Did it work?" she asked. Both Dumbledore and Sirius looked at the couple, who were slowly turning red, with curious expressions.

"Well?" Sirius asked, standing up and crossing his arms.

The couple continued to blush and Sirius wagged his eyebrows.

"Excellent," he smirked.

**

* * *

Hello everybody! So I have been informed that although long chapters are good, if I write shorter chapters, it will result in faster updates, so my chapters are going to decrease in length. Nothing too short, I swear. Also, sitting in and reading an uber long chapter can get exhausting, especially if you have to sleep and you stay up late to read it (I do that) and if you have work to do (guilty again)**

**So I hope you like the story and look forward to an update!**

**ALSO, next weekend for me is a five-day weekend (OMG) so I have Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday off, so you can **_**definitely **_**expect an update then if I don't update before. **

**Happy fanficcing!**


	9. Complicated

**Hey! So yes, short chapters suck. I'm going back to long because when I finished this I felt like it was too little. ENJOY!**

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Disclaimer: Not mine…Nope, sorry, still not mine. **

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Previously:**_

_Welcome back the happy couple!_

* * *

Lily walked into Auror Academy the day after the mission, anxious. She was back together with James, but they hadn't talked since they had made up the night before. Well, they had talked, but not about "them". Was he going to sit next to her? Was he going kiss her hello? Was it going to be the same as before?

Before she had time to control the questions in her mind, she had entered Auror Academy. James was already there, the only other person. He was facing away from her, and Lily saw his hands were shaking slightly and he was shaking his leg. She looked over at the clock and was momentarily surprised. She had been thinking so hard she had arrived at the Ministry half an hour early.

She took a deep breath, silently, and walked over to James quietly. Her feet, tripping over a ridge in the wooden floorboard, however, ruined her quiet approach, and she fell onto her face with a scream. James jumped and turned around, and smirked as he saw her down on the floor.

"Wow Lils, you fell for me," he said nervously, his voice squeaking. He walked over to her and helped her up. He let go of her hands extremely quickly, taking a step back, his hand flying up into his hair

"You already knew that," Lily chuckled, and James grinned.

"Lils I spent six years waiting for that to happen, it'll take me just as long to get used to it," he said in a mock serious tone, and Lily giggled.

"I don't know if I can say that for six years, we'll see," she teased, and then bit her lip, "James"

"Are we _finally _going to have this conversation?" he chuckled and Lily laughed

"Yes, believe it or not, so, er," she said awkwardly, twirling her hair, "hmm?" James burst out laughing and leaned against a table, holding the edge of the table.

"Well, what's going on?" he asked, and Lily snorted.

"We're at the ministry?"

"No!" he laughed, "With us!"

"I thought we decided this yesterday," she said, her heart sinking. She hadn't realized she had been so elated by getting back together with James. It had taken her over already.

"We did!" James squeaked, and Lily felt the knot in her stomach release, "I just, I mean, what?" he asked, looking at her helplessly, and Lily smiled.

"Let's do this calmly and rationally," she said, and James chuckled.

"There's my Lily," he snickered, and Lily felt her heart soar, "Yes, calmly and rationally"

"Are we back together?"

"Yes," James answered quickly, and Lily smiled, "What do you say?"

"Yes," she answered reflexively, and James felt the need to walk over to her and wrap his arms around her, but sighed, "Then what's the problem?" she asked gently,

"I doubt you can trust me," James said quietly, and Lily sighed, knowing.

"Yes, I think I can,"

"Are you sure?" he asked worriedly, and Lily frowned, "I lied to you," he murmured, and Lily felt her heart melt

"Yes, I know, I thought over it," she said, twisting her toe into the floor, "But I would have done the same thing," she said confidently, looking up into James's eyes. Before she knew it, James's hands were on either side of her face, and his lips were moving passionately against hers.

Lily responded instantly, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his face closer to hers. It wasn't a rough kiss, but a sweet one. When they broke apart, Lily opened her eyes to see him looking down at her with a loving smile on his face. Lily smiled at him and he grinned happily, flashing his beautiful pearly white teeth, before taking Lily's hand, which was resting on his shoulder, and leaning back against the table. Lily took a step towards him and brought her other hand up to his face. James's eyes closed as Lily traced the planes of his face with her fingertips, barely making contact with his skin. A smile spread across her face as she felt the familiar surface of James's face; his cheekbones, his nose, his eyelids. Lily jumped as James quickly, using his stupid seeker reflexes, covered her lips with his own.

She laughed breathlessly and he pulled away, still standing against her, and grinned, "What did you do that for?" she squeaked, trying to calm her racing heart.

"Did I scare you?" he teased and Lily narrowed her eyes at him

"No," she said stubbornly, causing James to guffaw

"I think I scared you"

"I think you're an arrogant git," she mumbled, and James grinned

"Go out with me Evans?" he asked in the cocky voice he used to use at Hogwarts, and Lily laughed, "I'll take that as a yes," he said, and leaned down to kiss her once more.

"OI!" they jumped apart to see Sirius and Remus standing in the doorway, amused.

"Yay!" Sirius yelled happily, running over and picking Lily up, having to practically wrestle James in order to take her away from him. Remus chuckled as Sirius, for some reason, waltzed Lily around the room, her feet dangling in midair. Remus walked over to James and clapped him on the shoulder, and James turned to grin widely at the werewolf.

"Padfoot put her down," Remus said as he watched James flinch every time Sirius almost dropped Lily.

"But we're _dancing!_" Sirius whined, stopping with Lily still dangling in midair.

"Technically we're standing," Lily pointed out, and Sirius glared at her

"Whose side are you on?" he yelled, and Lily giggled

"Pads," James said, and Sirius grumbled

"You boys are so irritating," he huffed, putting Lily back down on the floor. Lily took a step and then swayed, dizzy, "Whoa!" Sirius yelled, as suddenly the world was sideways, probably due to the fact that he was lying on the floor. Lily giggled and James grabbed her arm, holding her upright, "PRONGS!" Sirius yelled, as he watched James help Lily over to a desk

"Yes?" James asked, amused.

"BROS BEFORE HOES!" Sirius screeched, banging his fists on the floor. Remus chuckled and walked over to sit next to Lily.

"Do _not _call her a hoe," Alice hissed, as she and Frank walked in the door. Lily grinned at Alice, who smiled and sat down in her usual seat.

"SHE IS!" Sirius yelled like a little child, pouting and crossing his arms. Lily giggled and walked over to Sirius, sitting down next to him on the floor, crossing her legs

"Sorry," she said, holding her hand out, and Sirius narrowed her eyes at him.

"Are you serious?" he asked, eying her hand.

"No, that's you," Lily pointed out, and Sirius barked a laugh, along with everyone else.

"Fine," Sirius said, taking Lily's hand. Lily stood up and Sirius held his hand out to her. Lily huffed and took Sirius's hand. She began to pull him up, but he tugged on her hand so hard, that although he stood up, she fell down. Lily turned to glare at Sirius, who was busy laughing.

"I will tell Hestia," she huffed irritably, and walked over to her seat, sitting down next to Alice as everyone chuckled at Sirius's slightly fearful expression. James chuckled and sat down next to Lily, and Lily smiled to herself

So things _were _going to go back to normal then.

* * *

"Sirius help!"

"Excuse-me?" Sirius asked, bewildered

"What?"

"Nothing," Sirius shrugged. He hadn't heard James call him by his first name in a _long _time.

"You're so strange," James chuckled, running his hand through his hair. Sirius looked down at what his best mate was wearing and snorted

"What are you wearing?"

"It's a muggle formal thing, called a torpedo or something," James said distractedly

"Why are you wearing it?" Sirius asked, amused, and James whimpered slightly

"It's Lily's parents wedding anniversary," he squeaked.

"And this concerns you becaauuusseee?" Sirius asked, completely confused as to what his best mate was on about

"Lils invited me to go!"

"I thought Lily-flower's parents loved you," Sirius sniggered, and James narrowed his eyes at his best mate, "Look mate, it's not as if you're meeting them for the first time, and you never get this worried before you meet them," Sirius pointed out

"This is different!"

"Yes, because you're wearing a monkey suit," Sirius proclaimed. James's mouth twitched.

"No, it's because it's after the breakup,"

"You've been together over a week now," Sirius grumbled, and James's eyes widened.

"Really? That fast?" James asked happily and Sirius sighed, nodding.

"What's the big problem?"

"They don't know we're back together," James said, and Sirius snickered

"Like your parents?"

"Oh bugger off," James said, flushing slightly, "I didn't know how to tell them without them causing a scene"

"And by them you mean your mum?"

"Maybe," James grinned cheekily. Sirius chuckled and stood up, walking around James, "Padfoot!"

"You'll be fine," Sirius sighed, and James frowned

"What's wrong mate?"

"Nothing," Sirius said too quickly, and James's frown deepened.

"Mate,"

"I don't want to talk! Merlin, leave me alone!" Sirius huffed, and disapparated. James sighed, he'd get it out of Sirius later, and walked into his bedroom, grabbing his stuff.

He and Lily had been together for over a week now, and everything had been perfect. Also, Voldemort had stopped sending him letters. James wondered if Voldemort even knew they were back together. James sighed, and after assessing himself in the mirror, grabbed his wand and disapparated to Lily's house.

* * *

"Wormtail," the high voice asked and Peter turned to him

"Yes, My Lord,"

"How is it going with the Potter boy?" Peter closed off his mind, so that Voldemort wouldn't be able to see his thoughts. Peter had hated it when James was miserable. This, he owed his best mate.

"The mudblood is history, My Lord," Peter said, and Voldemort nodded his appreciation.

* * *

"James!" Lily squealed, as he landed in her room. He had thought she had squealed out of happiness, but he looked over to see her pulling her bedcovers around herself, and snickered.

"I like what you're wearing," he said, eying the covers, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him.

"Turn around so I can change!" she squealed, and he shook his head, and leaned against the dresser, "Potter!" James raised his eyebrows and Lily huffed, "How am I supposed to change?"

"Figure it out," he said cheekily, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"I regret getting back together with you," she grumbled, and James grinned. Lily sighed and wrapped the covers more firmly around her, before walking over to James, whose heart rate sped up. Ignoring him, Lily grabbed her wand and James groaned.

"That's cheating!"

"No it's not," she snorted, and pointed her wand at James. She muttered something and James's eyesight went black.

"Lily!"

"Oh don't get your knickers in a knot," she giggled, as James waved his arms around. She waved her wand after she had changed her clothes, and James blinked. He looked over at Lily to see her wearing a denim skirt and an emerald tight shirt, her hair falling in curls down her back.

"I hate you," he mumbled, and Lily grinned, walking over to him and kissing his cheek.

"Shall we?" she offered, and James's palms started to sweat

"What are they going to do to me?" he asked, and Lily bit her lip

"Well, you'll have no problems with mum for sure," she said, and James nodded, "But dad might not be too happy"

"Figures," James muttered, and Lily chuckled.

"Come on," she grabbed his hand and turned on the spot.

* * *

"Hest?" Sirius yelled around Lily's apartment. He walked over to Hestia's room, and chuckled as he heard Lily and James bicker through Lily's door. Sounded like James wouldn't turn around when Lily needed to change. _Nice one Prongs, _Sirius thought, smirking.

He pushed the door of Hestia's bedroom open to see it empty. Where was that girl? There was a bustling noise and he looked over to see Hestia walking out of her bathroom grumpily, "Sirius!" she squeaked, as she saw him standing in her bedroom. Sirius looked down and saw that Hestia was standing in front of him, wearing only a t-shirt and her underwear. Hestia looked down and flushed darkly as she saw what she was dressed in, "Sirius!" she squealed again, opening the door to her closet and hiding behind it.

"What? Now that wasn't my fault," he teased, and Hestia narrowed her eyes playfully

"Why did you look?" she asked, trying to control her laughter

"Why wouldn't I?" he winked, and walked over to Hestia's bed, trying to ignore her obnoxiously pink walls, and sat down on her obnoxiously pink bedcovers. Honestly, the things he did for that girl. Hestia rolled her eyes and pulled on a pair of pajama pants, before walking over to Sirius and sitting down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder

"Where have you been?" she demanded, and Sirius chuckled, putting his arms around her

"I was going to ask you the same question," he breathed into her hair, and Hestia smiled.

"You know where I am," she pointed out, and Sirius chuckled

"You know where _I _am,"

"We're pretty stupid," Hestia said in a slightly shameful tone, and Sirius laughed

"Correction, we're sexy stupid," he said, and Hestia giggled, and flopped onto her back, "What's wrong?" Sirius asked gently, and Hestia groaned.

"You don't want to know," she said, and Sirius rolled his eyes

"If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked," he pointed out, lying down on his side, holding his head up, and brushing Hestia's hair off her face.

"Work," she grumbled

"What's wrong with work?"

"I have a story," she said, and Sirius's eyes widened.

"That's amazing!" he said excitedly, and Hestia looked over at him, grinning, "Wait," he said, frowning, "Why is this a bad thing?"

"I have to write about Voldemort," she said

"Lot's of people write about Voldemort," Sirius said matter-of-factly, and Hestia chuckled.

"Yes, but it's risky business, I have to tell the magical world that he's bad, and to help them realize he's not scary," she said, and Sirius frowned at her, "The last person who wrote about Voldemort this way went missing," she said, and Sirius's eyes narrowed to slits

"Turn it down," he said stiffly, "The story, turn it down,"

"I can't," she sighed

"Yes you can," he said, "You don't _have _to write this story!"

"If I write it I get promoted," she mumbled, and Sirius huffed

"Get promoted some other time!"

"But then I can quit being under Rita Skeeter!"

"What, you want to be on top?" Sirius said, wagging his eyebrows, and Hestia burst out laughing, causing Sirius to smile.

"Oh shut up," she giggled, smacking his arm playfully

"Sorry, no can do," he said, leaning down to kiss her nose, "Well, I don't think taking this assignment is good…Wait," he said suddenly and Hestia chuckled

"I didn't say anything," she said cheekily, and Sirius threw her a mock irritated look

"As I was saying before you _rudely _interrupted me," he said, and Hestia giggled, "Was the bloke, or blokette,"

"Blokette?" Hestia asked exasperatedly, and Sirius narrowed his eyes at her, "Sorry!" she squeaked, and Sirius barked a laugh.

"As I was saying, the person who went missing, was that just a coincidence?" he asked worriedly, his eyes searching her face. Hestia looked up into Sirius's concerned face and bit her lip

"I think it was a coincidence," she said finally, and she saw his handsome features relax considerably, breaking into a breathtaking, heart-stopping grin. She felt almost guilty for lying.

* * *

They landed on Lily's parents' driveway, and Lily looked around, grinning as memories came flooding back to her. James's hand, which was wrapped around hers, was sweating.

"James calm down," Lily said, turning to look at him, and he looked down at her, his eyes full of panic. He looked adorable. James didn't stop panicking so Lily, holding his hand firmly, dragged him into the garage.

"Lils!" he hissed, "If they catch me in here with you they'll think we were doing something and they'll kill me!" he squeaked, and Lily rolled her eyes. She backed him up against the wall and looked up at him, waiting for him to let it out, "Lily! They hate me!" he said, and Lily sighed

"No they don't James," she said gently, and he looked down at her with wide, earnest eyes

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said and James's shoulders relaxed, "Shall we go in now?" she suggested, and James nodded. Lily pulled open the door leading to the kitchen, but it didn't budge.

"It's locked," James said, and Lily snorted

"Really?" she asked sarcastically, and James laughed. Lily pulled her wand out and unlocked the door. They walked into the kitchen and Lily jumped, "Er, hi," she said awkwardly, looking at the people in the kitchen.

"This is awkward," James breathed awkwardly, as Petunia and Vernon turned to look at them.

"What are _you _doing here?" Vernon asked, and Lily crossed her arms. James couldn't help but notice how his eyes flickered over his girlfriend's body. Noticing this, his hands clenched to fists at his sides.

"This is _my _parents house, what are _you _doing here?" Lily challenged, and huffed out of the kitchen.

"I thought you two broke up?" Petunia said, her voice sounding too curious for her statement to come out as nasty

"We did," James shrugged. Petunia nodded slightly. James glared at Vernon, who flinched slightly, before following his girlfriend out of the kitchen. Lily was standing outside talking to somebody. James walked up behind her nervously, and Lily turned around, grinning up at him.

"Hi," she said, and James smiled down at her.

"Hey,"

"Aunt Kathryn, this is my boyfriend James Potter," she said to the woman in front of her, and Kathryn smiled at James.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kathryn, Andrew's sister," she said, and James grinned, shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you," he said charmingly.

"LILY!" Kathryn chuckled and winked at Lily, before walking away as Andrew's voice was heard.

"Bloody hell," James whimpered, and Lily took his hand firmly in her own. Andrew came into view, his arm around Jane's shoulders.

"Lily!" he said happily, and then froze as he realized who was standing next to her, his jaw clenching.

"James!" Jane squealed, and James smiled nervously at her, "Are you two back together?" she squealed, looking at Lily. Lily nodded, and Andrew turned to look at her with hard eyes, causing her to flinch slightly. Jane, oblivious to her husbands' fury, squealed and flung her arms around James's torso, causing Lily to roll her eyes, "Oh I'm so happy!" Jane squealed, "Oh, I have to go find Nana!" she squealed, before running off happily, leaving Lily with her father and James.

"Hi daddy," Lily said, and Andrew looked down at her, crossing his arms.

"I thought you broke up," he said, nodding towards James.

"Right, but we're back together," Lily said, and Andrew narrowed his eyes

"You were crushed," he growled, and Lily bit her lip, unsure of how to respond. Andrew huffed and turned to look at James, who was honestly a little scared. Despite the fact that he had a wand in his pocket, Andrew could hurt him. He could take away Lily. Andrew nodded towards the kitchen, and walked past James into the kitchen, and James turned to throw Lily a desperate look.

"You'll be fine," Lily said soothingly, and James nodded. She kissed him on the cheek before pushing him off after her father. James stumbled slightly and walked into the kitchen, to see Andrew purple in the face. James looked up to see Vernon and Petunia. It looked like Vernon was eating her face.

_Ew_

"Oi!" Andrew yelled. Petunia and Vernon sprung apart, Petunia flushing. Petunia threw her father an apologetic look, and, noticing James standing behind him, grabbed Vernon's hand and led him out of the kitchen, Vernon avoiding eye contact with Andrew.

_Bloody perfect, he's in an even nastier mood now, _James thought to himself, telepathically sending curses after Petunia and Vernon. Andrew glared at James, making James feel extremely uncomfortable. James looked down at his shoes, his very shiny black ones, and Andrew cleared his throat

"Listen James," he said in a stern voice, and James looked up at him. Andrew opened his mouth to say something but James cut in.

"I'm sorry!" James blurted out, unable to take the disapproval any longer. Andrew looked at James, waiting for him to continue, "I'm sorry! I was a git! I was a prat! I know I hurt her and you hate me for it, but I did it to protect her life and I really take it back because I really regret it and I missed her so much more than you can imagine and you probably don't want to hear this because she's your daughter and all but-" James was cut off from his rant by Andrew holding up his hand

"What do you mean by you 'did it to protect her life'?" Andrew asked.

"Er," James said, his hand flying up to his hair, "Well, Voldemort threatened to hurt her if I didn't chuck her," he said awkwardly, and Andrew's eyebrows rose

"Why?"

"Because he didn't want me with a muggleborn," James said bitterly, and Andrew frowned.

"And you chucked her because?"

"I didn't want her hurt?" James said uncertainly, and Andrew chuckled

"Why do you sound so uncertain?"

"I don't know what to say," James admitted, and Andrew sighed, "I'm sorry," James added, and Andrew shook his head

"Now that I know your reason, I have to say I'm not angry at you," Andrew said slowly, and James grinned, "But if you ever hurt my baby girl again," Andrew said in a threatening tone, and James shook his head quickly

"I'm not going to," he said quickly, and Andrew scrutinized James for a few moments, before nodding.

"I believe you," he sighed, "Now let's go outside before Jane dies from lack of James," he said, smiling slightly at James, who grinned, glad Lily's father had forgiven him. James followed Andrew out of the kitchen to see Lily standing there, her arms crossed, tapping her foot. Andrew grinned at Lily, who just looked back at him irritably, "Hello petal," Andrew said cheerfully, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him, "I had to! I'm your father, it's my obligation!" he said defensively, and Lily rolled her eyes, before walking away, "These women!" Andrew grumbled, following after his temperamental daughter. James laughed and followed Andrew.

_

* * *

He-who-must-not-be-named; dark wizard or local bully?_

_By: Hestia Jones_

_The man, who the magical world knows as 'He-who-must-not-be-named' and 'You-know-who', is on the rise. Commanding armies of thousands, prepared at any moment to kill. It's a fact, and it's only good for the magical world to know the facts._

_The man known as Lord Voldemort, a name which many, including you reading this, flinch out of fear at. Lord Voldemort is, admittedly, someone to fear. He is followed by many, which, to be honest, irritates me._

_To put it in simple terms, Lord Voldemort is a bully. My best friend is muggleborn, you see, so I know what it's like to constantly worry about those you love and care about. He's a bully to put it extremely bluntly. And how do you deal with a bully?_

_I remember going to Hogwarts, and having to suffer tormenting from others. What I've learned over the years on how to deal with bullies, is that if you don't give a bully what it wants, it will go away and leave you alone. Not the same thing, you say? Well, you're right, it's not, but on some level, it just might be_

_What if we stopped fearing this man? What if we didn't succumb to our worries? What if we simply stopped caring? Would he go away and leave us alone? Or would matters become worse?_

_(continued on page 16)_

* * *

"JAMES POTTER!" a voice screeched, causing James to jump. The party was almost over and James was standing with Lily in the kitchen, talking, "JAMES!"

"Merlin…" James breathed, as he recognized the voice. He looked down at Lily fearfully, and Lily giggled

"Come on," she sighed, pulling him after her, and James allowed her to drag him out. James looked for the person calling his name and froze, hiding behind Lily when they made eye contact.

"JAMES POTTER," Emily yelled, marching over to them. She noticed Lily and grinned down at her, "Hello Lily dear," she said sweetly, and then turned to glare at her son. Daniel came up behind Emily, watching her nervously.

"Er, yeah?" James said, and Emily's eyes narrowed to slits.

"Lily let's leave so we don't witness his death?" Daniel suggested, and Lily giggled, taking a step forwards, but James grabbed her wrist

"Don't leave me!" he whispered desperately. Lily winked at him before walking over to Daniel, the two of them making their way to Lily's parents. James looked after her and then looked down at his mother, who, figuratively, had steam shooting out of her ears. Brilliant.

"Explain yourself," she said sternly, arms crossed, and James grinned cheekily

"Well, we're together?"

"Since. When?" she hissed and James paled slightly

"Er, over a week," he mumbled, and Emily's eyes narrowed to slits

"And you didn't bother to tell me?" she said, her voice rising to a scream by the end of the question. James looked at the floor shamefully and on the other side of the room, Daniel was laughing silently.

"When did you get back together?" he whispered to Lily, who flushed slightly

"Over a week ago," she answered, and Daniel guffawed. Of course he was irritated that his son hadn't told him, but Emily was yelling at James enough for both of them.

"JAMES POTTER if you _ever _keep me in the dark again," Emily growled, and James flinched. She didn't need to finish the threat; it was threat enough already.

"I wont! I swear! Sorry!" James squeaked, holding his hands up in surrender. Emily glowered at him for a second longer before turning and walking over to Lily, pulling her into a hug, squealing.

"I'm so happy!" she squealed, and James rolled his eyes. He walked over to his girlfriend and mother. Daniel gave James a hard look, and James threw him an apologetic grin, causing him to roll his eyes and grin back.

"So when's the wedding?" a voice asked, and they turned quickly to see Lily's white haired grandma.

"W-w-wedding?" Lily stammered, and her grandma turned to look at her

"Shut your mouth Lily Claire, its incredibly unattractive," she said sternly, and Lily's mouth snapped shut. James smirked and the grandma turned to look at him.

"Rather handsome bloke," she said, and Lily turned to look at her father, who put his arm around her shoulders soothingly as James hid a snigger, "Lily Claire, how come I have no invite to this wedding?" she asked, turning to Lily, whose jaw fell open.

"Nana there's no wedding," Lily said uncertainly, and her grandma's eyes widened.

"No wedding? Don't tell me you're not planning on getting married!" Lily looked at her mother pleadingly, and Jane sighed.

"Mum she's not old enough to get married yet," Jane told her mother, who snorted

"Not old enough, my arse. When I was her age I was already pregnant with my first child," she said, "I see no reason why she should not be getting married!"

"She'll be getting married soon," Emily said, and both Lily and James spluttered, looking at Emily.

"Marvelous," Nana answered, before walking away.

"What?" James squeaked, and Emily rolled her eyes.

"What?" Lily squeaked in a higher voice, and Emily giggled

"You're so cute," she said, looking between the two teenagers.

"What?" Andrew asked in a choked voice, and Lily looked up to see her father as pale as a sheet

"Daddy she wasn't being serious," Lily said, and Andrew exhaled, nodding.

"Don't do that to me," he said, clutching at his throat, "I've already lost one of my girls and this one's still a baby!"

"She's hardly a baby," Daniel said, and Andrew turned to look at him

"She's always going to be a baby," Andrew said sternly, and Lily grinned.

"We're going to go now," Lily said, and the four parents nodded. Lily walked over to James and took his hand, and with a final wave to the parents, disapparated.

* * *

"Hest?"

"Merlin Sirius! You scared me!" Hestia squealed, dropping her book. Sirius frowned and sat down next to her

"Why?"

"Don't sneak up on me!" Hestia squealed, and Sirius frowned

"Why are you so jumpy?" he asked concernedly, and Hestia sighed

"I've been jumpy since the article was published!"

"Why?"

"I don't want to disappear," Hestia squeaked, and Sirius's jaw clenched. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug

"I wont let anyone take you," he said soothingly, and Hestia nodded, hiding her face in his chest, "Merlin Hest you're shaking," he whispered, rubbing her shaking arm.

"I'm scared Sirius," she whimpered, and Sirius kissed her on top of her head

"You don't have to be scared of anything," he said sternly, and Hestia sat up, looking into his eyes

"You promise?" she asked. Sirius looked at how frightened she looked, and smiled slightly

"Hest, I'm here," he said, and Hestia smiled slightly.

"You wont leave me?"

"I swear," he said, and then stood up, holding his hand out to her, "Coming?"

"Where?" she asked, taking his hand.

"It's a secret," he winked, and Hestia grinned. He held her tightly and disapparated, landing in the Leaky Cauldron

"What are we doing here?" Hestia asked, looking around worriedly, and inching closer to Sirius. Sensing her fear, he put his arm protectively around her shoulders

"I want ice cream," he shrugged, and led his giggling girlfriend into Diagon Alley

"Oh Sirius!" she squeaked suddenly, and he turned to frown at her, "I just remembered I have to stop by work for a little bit, I'll see you later?" she asked, and Sirius rolled his eyes

"No we're going together, come on," he said, and Hestia grinned.

* * *

"That was weird," said James, as they landed at the Potter Mansion, "Why are we here?" he asked, and Lily shrugged

"I wanted to go to the garden," she said, and James chuckled.

"Come on," he said, taking her hand and leading her outside. The couple found themselves engulfed in an awkward silence.

"Blithering bumbling band of baboons," James said suddenly, and Lily snorted

"What?"

"Always breaks the silence, that one," he winked, and Lily laughed, leaning on his shoulder.

"It's weird,"

"I know, Sirius made it up," James said, as if it was an explanation, which it was. Lily laughed again and nodded.

"Makes sense. Blithering bumbling band of baboons," she said, "Try saying that 10 times faster," she said, looking up at James, and he laughed

"blithering bubbling," he started, and Lily laughed

"Nice," she said slyly, and James nudged her playfully causing her to fall over, "Why did you do that?" she squeaked, and he grinned, leaning down to help her up.

"I just nudged you, not my fault you fell over," he said, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him. Ignoring his outstretched hand, she stood up and turned away from him, her hair whacking his face, and walked towards the maze, "Lils!" he yelled after her. Lily grinned at him over her shoulder before vanishing inside the maze. James chuckled and followed after his girlfriend, entering the maze.

* * *

"It's empty," Sirius said, as they landed in the _Prophet _offices. Hestia shook her head

"No it's not," she said, and led him up the stairs to her floor, "You landed on the wrong floor"

"Oh I'm sorry," Sirius mumbled, and she grinned at him. They made it up to Hestia's floor to see it bustling with people, "Oh," he said intelligently, and Hestia laughed. She led him to the Skeeter office, and pushed the door open. Rita Skeeter walked over to them; her hips swinging so much Sirius thought she had a nargle in her pants. The idea made him chuckle.

"Well hello," she said suggestively, looking him up and down, and Hestia's jaw clenched.

"Come on," she sighed, grabbing his hand and dragging him over to her little cubicle, "Sit," she said, pointing to the chair, and Sirius snorted.

"I'm in human form right now Hest," he said, and she laughed.

"Yes, but you'll always be a dog," she pointed out, and Sirius snorted, unable to come up with a comeback. Hestia shuffled through a few files and dropped all of them suddenly

"What?" he asked, and Hestia turned to him fearfully.

"Did you hear that?" she whispered, and Sirius shook his head. There was a bang, and Sirius paled, "Please tell me you heard it that time," she squeaked, and Sirius nodded. HE took Hestia's hand and pulled his wand out, "No, Sirius, let's go," she pleaded, pulling on his sleeve. Sirius looked down at her and nodded, noticing her wide fearful eyes and how she was shaking slightly. He turned on the spot, but was unable to move. His throat clogged, and the sound of screaming reached their ears.

"We're trapped,"

* * *

"Caught you!" James yelled, as he grabbed Lily around the waist from behind. Lily screamed as he scared her, and James laughed.

"Not funny!" she squeaked, her hand over her heart. James turned her around and grinned down at her, resting his forehead on hers

"I'm sorry," he whispered, and Lily rolled her emerald eyes

"Sure you are," she said, her eyes twinkling, and James grinned. He pushed her up against the hedge of the maze and Lily looked up at him.

"You look gorgeous," he said, and she giggled

"Translation; I would really like to snog you right now," she said, and James winked, causing her to laugh.

"You look gorgeous," he repeated, and she sighed, pulling his face down to hers. They broke apart and James looked down at her, "You really do look gorgeous," he said earnestly, and Lily laughed

"I already snogged you!"

"Yes, but I said it again," he said, and Lily laughed

"No, one snog, sorry"

"But Lily!" he whined

"James Potter are you whining?"

"No," he pouted, and Lily grinned.

"Good thing we're not getting married," she said matter-of-factly, and James groaned, hiding his face in her shoulder

"That was terrible!"

"Nana is terrible," she nodded, and James chuckled.

"How is she terrible?"

"She told me I looked a bit pale," she grumbled, and James bit back a laugh, "It's not my fault I'm a redhead therefore look incredibly white! Merlin that woman is terrible," she huffed. James kissed her forehead and smiled down at her

"You are a bit pale," he said, and Lily narrowed her eyes up at him. She pulled her wand out and James backed up against the hedge behind him, his hands up in surrender, "I mean you're incredibly tan," he said, and Lily burst out laughing.

"Okay I don't need you to full out _lie _either," she teased, and he grinned down at her. Lily walked up to James, and got up on her tip toes, kissing him lightly.

"Are you saying you wouldn't marry me?" he asked,

"Are you proposing?" she squeaked, looking up at him, and James shook his head vigorously

"No! No!" he said defensively, and Lily relaxed slightly, "It was an honest question!"

"We'll just have to wait and see," she grinned, and James's stomach flipped, "Why, would you not marry me?"

"Lils I've wanted to marry you since we were eleven," he snorted, and Lily shook her head, "What?"

James didn't receive an answer however, because at that moment, there was a popping noise and Remus appeared next to them, pale.

"Remus!" Lily squeaked, and then noticed his expression, turned serious, "Remus what's wrong?"

* * *

"Are you alright?" Hestia choked. Everyone in the building was sitting in one rather large room, held hostage. Sirius had just been tortured for protecting her, after they tortured her for writing the article, and was lying next to her.

"I'm fine," he said, sitting up and putting his arm around her. Hestia noticed a large gash on the side of his face and whimpered. She traced her pointer finger over the cut, and Sirius winced. She kissed his shoulder and Sirius looked down at her.

"If we die," she started, but Sirius shook his head, silencing her by clapping his hand over her mouth

"No," he said, and Hestia nodded. Sirius leaned down and kissed her softly, before sitting up, and leaning his cheek on her hair, "We'll get out"

* * *

The three of them landed outside the offices of the _Daily Prophet _to see spells flying everywhere. There were Aurors at the entrance, battling off Death Eaters.

"Merlin," James breathed. Lily had tears flowing down her face. Her best friends were in there.

"Let's go," Lily choked out, and the two boys nodded.

"How do we get in?" Remus hissed, eying the entrance.

"I know a way," Lily said, and the boys looked down at her incredulously, "I saw it when I came here with Alice, I doubt the Death Eaters noticed it," she said. She started towards the side of the building but James pulled her back. Both Remus and Lily looked at James, to see him pulling his invisibility cloak out, "James we wont all fit under that," she said gently.

"Who cares if they see our feet," he retorted, and Remus shrugged. James threw the invisibility cloak over the three of them, and Lily looked down to see all their shoes visible.

"Someone might notice"

"They'd have to be staring at our feet," Remus said. They all made their way forwards, looking around carefully. Lily led them to the east side of the building, where there was a ladder.

"They didn't notice that?" James asked incredulously, and Lily shrugged

"Most magical folk don't notice the muggle inventions. Plus, they probably didn't think any witch or wizard would bother trying to get in the muggle way," she said, and they nodded; it made sense. They took a step towards it but Lily held them both back as a figure came into view. The figure looked in their direction before running away

"Who was that?" James asked, but Remus shook his head

"Doesn't matter," he said, and they took a few more steps forward.

The figure ran to the other side of the building and sank down to the floor. _That was close, _thought Peter.

"Anyone else coming?" Remus asked, and Lily shrugged

"We'll just have to risk this," she said, and stepped out from under the cloak.

"Lily!" James hissed, running after her, leaving Remus alone under the cloak. Remus pulled it off and handed it to James, who tucked it into his robes, "Be careful," he whispered, as Lily started to make her way up the ladder

"Oh bugger off," they heard her mutter, and Remus snickered. He followed after Lily, and James brought up the rear. At the top of the ladder, Lily peeked through the window and squeaked, ducking down.

"What?" Remus asked from behind her, as he climbed next to her. Lily shifted out of the way and Remus ended up next to her, "Bloody hell," he hissed, as he saw th room full of people, masked and unmasked.

"Can you see Pads?" James asked from in between them. Lily peeked up again and then shook her head

"It's dark, but there are tons of people in there,"

"Anyone you recognize?" Remus asked. He had never visited the offices before so he wasn't much of a help

"Er, yes!" Lily squeaked, "That's Rita Skeeter over there," she said, eying the woman with elaborate blonde curls filing her nails.

"So that means Hest is in there," Remus said

"And Padfoot," James said. The three looked at each other before nodding, "Lils!" Lily turned to look down at James, "If we don't make it out of this, I love you," he said, and Lily's heart caught in her throat

"I love you too, and we will make it out of this," she said, "I love you also Remus, but obviously in a different way," she grinned, and Remus chuckled.

"I love you both too," he said. The three took a deep breath and Lily took a step up

"I'll open the window and jump in, you have to come right after me," she said, and they nodded. She reached her arm out, feeling their arms on her back keeping her steady, and pushed the window open. Nobody noticed. She looked at them again before swiftly entering through the window. Remus and James followed automatically, jumping in as soon as Lily's legs vanished.

They stood up straight to see everyone in the room looking at them.

"Sup," James said, before pulling his wand out and beginning to duel, Lily and Remus following suite.

"Hest!" Lily screamed, as she froze a Death Eater

"Lils?"

"Sirius?"

"Are you okay?" James yelled,

"We're fine!" Sirius's voice yelled back, and they all relaxed.

"Where are your wands?" Remus asked

"He has them," a woman said, pointing to at large Death Eater. Lily turned to him and he pulled his wand out, and began to duel her. James and Remus continued stunning and blasting Death Eaters, when James heard a screech. He looked over to see a blue spell fly at Lily and her fall to the floor.

"Lily!" he yelled, and sent a nasty curse at the Death Eater, who fell over, his whole body swelling up, frozen.

"What happened?" Sirius yelled

"Lily got hit!" Remus yelled back

"Lily!" Hestia yelled. James fell to the floor beside Lily and brushed her hair out of her face

"Lils"

"Mm?" she whimpered,

"What hurts?"

"M-my back," she whimpered. James rolled her over and lifted her shirt to see a large burn there. He cursed loudly, "I-I'm fine," she said, and sat up. James looked at her uncertainly and Lily smiled at him, to show she was okay. James helped her up and, after making sure she was steady, turned and continued fighting. Lily stood up, feeling slightly dizzy, and pointed her wand at the Death Eater who'd hurt her, "_Accio _wands!"

A bag flew over to her and Lily looked inside to see over 40 wands. She was about to wave her wand when she heard a yell. She looked to see Remus and James fall to the floor.

"No!" she screeched, falling to the floor in between the two of them. They were both unconscious. She put her finger underneath their noses and breathed a sigh of relief as she felt warm air; they were both alive. She stood up to see there were two Death Eaters left, pointing their wands at her. Lily drew her wand quickly and started firing spells at the one who had cursed James. The other one started shooting curses at her, and Lily found herself dueling two Death Eaters.

Just as the Death Eaters had her cornered, the doors flew open, and the Death Eaters fell to the floor. Lily looked up and a cry slipped out of her mouth. The Aurors had gotten through. She fell to the floor beside James and Remus.

"Lils!" she cried out as Sirius ran into her, holding her in a hug, "Are you hurt?" he asked, holding her at arms length and looking over her. Lily looked over Sirius to see him covered in cuts and bruises, "I'm fine," he said, as he noticed her looking at his injuries. He fell to his knees beside his best mates and started to check and make sure they were alive

"They're alive," Lily said quietly, and Sirius let out a cry. Hestia ran over to Lily and threw her arms around her neck. Lily hugged Hestia back and the two girls cried into each other

"Lily?" she looked over as someone yelled her name, to see Emily standing there, "Lily!" she yelled, hugging the redhead, "Oh Merlin Lily how did you get inside? Are you okay? Where's James?" Lily bit her lip and then pointed to where James and Remus were. Emily let out a yell and fell down next to her son, "My baby!" she choked, brushing James's hair away.

"Emily!"

"I'm here!" she yelled out. Daniel came over and paled as he saw his son on the floor.

"He's alive," Lily said quickly, and both parents relaxed considerably. Emily burst into tears and then pulled her wand out, levitating the two unconscious boys.

"We'll have to get them to St. Mungos," she choked out. She looked at Sirius and then whimpered, "What happened to you?" she said, and then turned to look at Hestia who was covered in just as many cuts and bruises, if not more.

"We were held hostage," Hestia said, and Emily closed her eyes. Daniel looked down at Lily

"What about you?" he asked worriedly, "Are you hurt?" Lily shook her head, and Daniel relaxed. He put his hand on the middle of her back and Lily yelled out. Daniel's jaw clenched and he moved her shirt off her lower back and hissed as he saw the large burn, that was growing in size, "St. Mungos, all of you," he said.

"How do we get James and Remus there?" Sirius asked worriedly, looking down at his two best mates.

"We can apparate with them," Daniel said, and Sirius nodded. Lily stepped forwards and took James's hand.

"I'll take him," she said, and his parents nodded, "See you there," she said, and then turned on the spot, hugging James to her. Healers started to buzz around all of them as they all appeared, and Lily felt James taken away from her, "No!" she cried out, but nobody heard her, as they dragged her to the second floor, and took James up to the third. Sirius and Hestia were also stuck on the second floor with Lily.

"Will they be okay?" Sirius choked out, asking a healer and the healer sighed

"They should be," the healer said uncertainly

"Should?"

**

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Hey guys! Sorry that took a while. Five day weekend so I'll have another update to you in a couple days. Hope you like the story!**

**Happy fanficcing!**


	10. Magical

**Hello everybody! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter. I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, but I haven't been evil in a while :D**

**Enjoy!**

**

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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter but I am in love with the characters. It's tragic really**

_**

* * *

Previously:**_

"_Will they be okay?" Sirius choked out, asking a healer and the healer sighed_

"_They should be," the healer said uncertainly_

"_Should?"_

* * *

"Ms. Evans you have to stay still," Healer Laura said, as she tried to control the spreading burn. It had spread to take up Lily's entire back by now, and the healers were worried that if it spread any further it could be life threatening

"Not until you tell me if my boyfriend and his best friend are okay!" Lily squeaked.

"Lils, stay still please," said Sirius, crouching down next to her head and holding her hand

"Is he okay?" she choked, and Sirius felt the lump in his throat

"They're working on them, the wards are sealed so I cant enter," Sirius said, and Lily's tears finally escaped her eyes.

"What if he dies?" she sobbed, and Sirius brushed his hand through her hair, smoothing it.

"He's not going to die," Sirius said in a choked voice, "Neither of them are, I promise."

"Mr. Black you should get back to your bed now," the Healer said, eying Sirius's many, many bandages. Sirius nodded and kissed Lily on top of the head before heading back to his own bed. Hestia was in the bed beside his. She had been given a sleeping draught as they cured her cuts and bruises, as well as the few muscle tears that had come from all the torture. Sirius sat down on his bed and hid his head in his hands.

Being the only one feeling okay was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. He was forced to be absolutely fine and deal with four hurt people as well as the stress that comes along with dealing and worrying. His hair was going to turn grey and fall out! Merlin forbid that happened!

Lily shrieked and Sirius jumped out of bed to run to hers. She was lying on her stomach, held down by multiple healers, screaming, as Healer Laura did something to her back.

"Mr. Black," a healer yelled to him over Lily's gut wrenching shrieks.

"Can't you knock her out or something?" Sirius yelled angrily, looking at Lily worriedly as she continued to shriek and cry.

"It won't work that way," the healer said solemnly, and Sirius swore loudly, "Go back to your bed," the healer suggested. Sirius threw him a dirty look before walking away, trying to block out Lily's shrieks of agony. He had no serious problems, so they had allowed him to walk around. Sirius decided to go back and check on James and Remus. He walked up the stairs, ignoring the people looking towards the ward as Lily's shrieks sounded, and stopped on the third floor where James and Remus were being treated. The doors of the ward were open now, and he sprinted in. From inside, Lily's shrieks could be heard clearly, as they were directly over her.

James and Remus were sitting up in beds, sipping water. Sirius let out a cry of relief and happiness and ran over to his best mates, who had been unconscious for over eight hours. They smiled at him and Sirius hugged James, before hugging Remus, "Don't you _ever _almost die again!" Sirius yelled, looking between the two of them.

"Yes Pads, we did it on purpose," James said in a dry voice, and Remus chuckled.

"We really enjoyed that," he said with just as much sarcasm, and Sirius snorted

"What happened?" he asked worriedly.

"Could have been fatal had they not been brought in less than thirty minutes after being hit," the Healer said, walking up behind them. Sirius nodded his thanks to the Healer, who checked on James and Remus's vitals before walking over to a different bed.

"We should call your parents," Sirius said, looking between the two boys, who flushed slightly, having forgotten to do that. Sirius rolled his eyes before pulling his wand out and sending two patronusses to the different parents houses. Lily's shrieks sounded again and Sirius winced

"What is that screaming?" Remus asked, looking down at the floor, "It's been going on for a while, poor person," he said.

"Isn't that your floor?" James asked, looking at Sirius, who bit his lip.

"What?" Remus asked, noticing Sirius's expression

"Yeah that is my floor," Sirius said uncertainly. The screams sounded again and James frowned a little, before his paled

"Is that Lily?" he choked. Sirius closed his eyes and nodded, and James attempted to jump out of bed, but was stopped by Sirius.

"No mate you have to stay in bed,"

"No!" James yelled. Remus was also trying to get out of bed and Sirius huffed. He pulled his wand out and the two boys flew back into their beds, "Let me go!" James growled, and Sirius shook his head

"You need to rest!"

"She's in pain!"

"I know!"

"And I can't go down because?" James yelled, and Sirius closed his eyes

"They said if they don't stop the thing from spreading right now she's going to die okay? So there's nothing we can do!" Sirius yelled back, his emotions finally getting the better of him.

"What?" James whispered, looking down at Sirius, who had tears in his eyes

"She's _dying_! That thing is spreading and trying to kill her so can you guys just _shut up _and rest!" Sirius yelled, "I've been dealing with Lily and Hestia and myself and you two so could you please, for the love of Merlin, shut the _hell _up!" Sirius yelled.

"Sorry," Remus said quietly, and Sirius shook his head

"It's killing her?" James whispered, and Sirius huffed

"You're both so infuriating!" he grumbled, "When Lily's dying she wants to know if you're okay, and when you barely escape death you don't care and want to know if she's okay. Honestly!" Sirius muttered, and Remus chuckled slightly. James even cracked a smile.

"How's Hest?" James asked, and Sirius shook his head

"She's okay. She had a few muscle tears from the torture, but they fixed those and gave her a sleeping draught," he said. Remus winced, as did James, but they nodded, "I should go down," Sirius said, as Lily's screams sounded again. James bit his lip and looked down at the floor. Remus closed his eyes, as if willing himself to not hear it.

"Go," James said, nodding, and Sirius nodded. He hugged his two best mates, who hugged him back tightly, and made his way to the ward below them. Ignoring the healer's protests, he walked right to Lily's bed. He looked at her back to see the burn had been reduced from her whole back, to the size of a knut

"Thank you," he whispered to the Healers, as, after a last scream from Lily, the burn vanished entirely. They only smiled at him.

"Ms. Evans, you're okay now," Healer Laura said, turning Lily onto her back. Lily looked up at the healers, her face red and wet from tears, and smiled at them, wiping her eyes

"Thank you," she choked out, and the healer chuckled.

"You're welcome dear. Now, you're allowed to walk, but only after 20 minutes," she said, and Lily nodded, "You'll be released tomorrow morning after we're completely sure that you are okay," she said. Lily nodded again and the healer smiled once more, before walking away, exhausted.

"Oh thank Merlin," Sirius breathed, as he pulled Lily into a hug gently. Lily hugged him back and then pulled away

"Did you check on them?" she asked in a raspy voice. Sirius handed her a glass of water, and Lily grinned at him thankfully, taking a sip

"Yes, I did," he said, and Lily looked at him expectantly, "They're both awake and absolutely fine," he said, his face breaking into a grin. Lily let out a cry of relief and hugged Sirius, "They're really agitated though," he said

"Why?" she asked, leaning back, and Sirius gave her a blank look, "Could they hear me?" she squeaked, and Sirius nodded, "Oh no," she grumbled, hiding her face in the pillow

"Why is that bad?"

"He's going to make a fuss," she grumbled, and Sirius laughed.

"Yes, he is," Sirius nodded, and Lily stuck her tongue out at Sirius.

"How's Hest?" she asked, looking in the direction of Hestia's bed. She couldn't see it, of course, because the Healers had drawn her curtains.

"She's still sleeping," he said, and Lily nodded. She had been awake when they had given Hestia the sleeping draught

"How are you?" she asked

"Mentally or physically?" he teased, and Lily grinned

"Both"

"Physically, I'm fine," he said, "The bandages itch," he whined, and Lily rolled her eyes

"I don't care," she said sternly, "You are not taking them off,"

"Yes mum," he said sarcastically, and Lily grinned

"Mentally?"

"I'm fried," he grumbled, resting his head on the side of her bed. Lily shifted over so Sirius could sit next to her, "I mean, we stop by the offices to get a file or something, and suddenly there's a loud noise and we're trapped. And then these Death Eaters barge into the office and direct us all to this large room and start torturing Hestia for writing that article, so I yelled at them and they tortured me, and then you guys entered, and there was this big fight, and then you're hit, and then those two are unconscious, and then we come here and Hestia has to be put to sleep, and people bandage me up, and we don't know what's going on with those two, and then you're screaming. Too much!" Sirius yelled, and Lily took his hand soothingly

"We're all going to be okay," she said, and Sirius snorted

"Why weren't you this cheerful 20 minutes ago?"

"I thought the man I love had died, I had reason to be, well, whatever I was," she said, and Sirius snickered

"He's not a man,"

"Touché," Lily said, and Sirius burst out laughing, "Let's go with, the idiot I love"

"Better," Sirius nodded, and Lily grinned.

"You better?"

"Yes," Sirius sighed. Lily smiled and then looked over at the clock.

"Do you think five minutes matters?" she asked, biting her lip, and Sirius glared down at her

"Prongs will be there after five minutes. You're not getting out of this bed until the big hand reaches the four," he said, and Lily giggled

"Is that really how you tell time Sirius?"

"I don't tell time, everyone tells me usually," he winked, and Lily laughed.

"Go check on Hest," she said, nudging him. Sirius jumped out of her bed and after waving to her ran over to Hestia's bed. Hestia was still sleeping. He brushed her hair off her forehead and Hestia moaned lightly

"Hest?" he whispered. Her eyes squeezed slightly and Sirius's eyes widened, "Laura!" he yelled. Healer Laura ran over and looked down at Hestia, whose eyelids were fluttering.

"Good," Laura smiled, nodding, "She'll be awake soon." Sirius grinned down at his girlfriend, and before he knew it, he was looking into her chocolate brown eyes. Hestia blinked twice and Sirius leaned down to kiss her. Hestia's hands grabbed his hair, holding him to her, and Sirius grinned. He reached up and untangled her fingers from his hair and looked down at her, smiling.

"You're okay," he said quietly, and Hestia looked up at him.

"You're okay," she said happily, and wiped his eyes, which were tearing up, "Come on Sirius, be a man," she teased, and Sirius chuckled, "How's Lils?" she asked suddenly, "And James? And Remus?"

"All fine," Sirius said, brushing her hair out of her face.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine," he grinned, and Hestia exhaled, "You?"

"Me? I'm fantastic," she said, and sat up quickly. Sirius hadn't moved so her face was only a couple of centimetres from his. She kissed him quickly and then pulled back, jumping out of her bed with a grin. Sirius stood up quickly and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her. Hestia wrapped her arms around his torso and buried her face in his chest, "I'm so glad we made it out," she mumbled, and Sirius kissed the top of her head

"I told you we'd be fine"

"Yes, but I didn't believe you," she grinned, and Sirius clasped his chest. Hestia giggled and then looked over at Lily's bed, "Is she awake?"

"Yes," Sirius said, and Hestia grabbed his hand, dragging him to Lily's bed. She was completely fine, all that her body had needed was rest. She pushed the curtains aside to see Lily sitting up.

"Hest!" Lily squealed, and Hestia grinned, hugging her best friend gently.

"Lils! Oh Merlin I'm so happy you're okay!"

"You as well! Are you absolutely okay?" Lily asked, looking over her best friend, who nodded happily.

"What about you?"

"I don't know," Lily said, looking at Sirius, who frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I feel dizzy," Lily said, and Sirius's eyes narrowed.

"LAURA!"

"Yes, Mr. Black," the healer said, walking over to them.

"Lily's dizzy," he said. The healer frowned and looked down at Lily.

"Lie down," Laura said, and Lily obeyed. She lay down on her back and groaned slightly, "What hurts?'

"My tummy," Lily whined. Laura pulled Lily's shirt up a little, and pressed at random spots.

"It's a natural reaction to the spell," Laura said after a few minutes, "The spell, although it hit your back, spread through your body. You will be alright since we got rid of the burn,"

"I don't understand how the burn on her back relates to her stomach," Hestia said, and Sirius looked down at his girlfriend. Honestly, seeing her, nobody would have been able to tell she had been tortured earlier.

"Well, the burn corresponded with an area of her body. That's why it could have killed her. As the burn spread up," Laura said, gesturing on Lily's body, "The insides underneath the burn were affected. Now your stomach just vaguely aches, am I correct?" Laura asked, and Lily nodded, "That's perfectly normal. You have to walk it off," she said. Lily smiled her thanks and Laura walked away.

"Come on," Sirius said, holding his hand out to Lily. Lily sighed and took his hand, allowing Sirius to pull her off the bed, gently. When Lily was on her feet, she closed her eyes for a minute before opening them, "You okay?" Sirius asked. Lily nodded and smiled at him.

"I'm good," she said weakly. Hestia looked down and hissed, "What?" Lily asked.

"What in the name of Merlin are you wearing?" she asked, eying the sweat pants Lily was in, along with her tight emerald shirt. She had transfigured her denim skirt before climbing up the ladder at the _Prophet _offices. Lily rolled her eyes as Sirius laughed, and walked past the couple.

Sirius and Hestia supported Lily up the stairs to the third floor and when they reached the ward, Lily held on to the doorframe for support, "Lils?" Hestia asked gently. Lily smiled and straightened up.

"Lils if something hurts don't downplay it," Sirius said worriedly. Lily threw him a look, causing Hestia to laugh, and then walked into the ward. James and Remus were talking to each other, and when James saw Lily, he jumped out of bed and ran towards her, "Are you allowed to be running?" Sirius asked worriedly, but James ignored him and ran to Lily, who was a little bit behind Sirius.

"Yes, we're allowed," Remus said, walking over to Sirius. Sirius hugged Remus, who hugged him back, before Remus turned to Hestia, "Hi," Remus said, as Hestia threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"You idiot," Hestia hissed, smacking Remus's chest, "If _any _of you _ever _risk your lives for me again, so help me Merlin I will _hurt _you," she hissed. Remus grinned and nodded, as did Sirius. Hestia looked over at James and Lily, "Oh I'll yell at them later," she smiled and led the two boys back to Remus's bed.

"Hey," Lily breathed, smiling up at James, who was looking down at her.

"Hi," he smiled, "How are you?" he asked in a choked voice.

"I'm fine," she said, and James rolled his eyes

"Now the truth," he said, and Lily huffed.

"Honestly what would I have done if you'd died?" she inquired, smiling up at James, who grinned down at her.

"Well I have to ask you the same thing, turns out you almost died"

"So did you," Lily pointed out, and James rolled his eyes

"Actually, no, I was unconscious, you were slowly dying," he said. Lily opened her mouth to argue, but James's expression stopped her from arguing.

"Whatever," she sighed, "I've been better, I feel really dizzy and my stomach hurts," she said, and James nodded.

"I heard you screaming," he said worriedly, and Lily nodded

"They were getting rid of the spreading burn," she said, but James was already nodding

"I know, Pads told me,"

"How are you feeling?" Lily asked, looking up into his hazel eyes.

"I'm tired, but otherwise I'm alright, honestly," he said, as Lily continued to scrutinize him.

"I was worried about you," she whispered, her throat clogging, and he took her face in his two hands, wiping the tear that had escaped.

"No crying," he said sternly, and Lily chuckled, "I was worried about you too," he whispered, resting his forehead on hers.

"James Potter if you ever almost die again," she said, and James grinned, silencing her with a soft kiss.

"I promise not to die on you,"

"You swear?"

"Yes I swear," he teased, and Lily grinned up at him, "Do you swear the same thing?"

"Sure," Lily shrugged, and James glared at her playfully

"Sure is not an acceptable answer"

"I mean, sir yes sir," Lily said, and James laughed. He kissed her forehead and steadied her as they made their way to where their friends were.

"Lily! Remus breathed out, relieved. He pulled her into a hug and Lily hugged him back.

"Remus you're okay!" she said happily, hugging him back. Remus grinned and let go of her.

"How's the burn?" he teased, and Lily rolled her eyes

"Bloody fantastic," she grumbled, and Remus laughed. He helped her onto James's bed as James and Hestia hugged each other. James sat down next to Lily and they all looked at her, "What?" she sighed after a few seconds, and James broke into a grin.

"Well you're the only sick one left," Remus said matter-of-factly, and Lily threw him a nasty look, "Just saying," he mumbled quietly, and Hestia grinned at him.

"Face it Lils, you lose," Hestia said, and they all burst out laughing.

"Lily-flower? Losing? It's the apocalypse!" Sirius yelled.

"Have you been reading?" they turned to see Emily and Daniel standing there. Emily squealed and ran over to her son, wrapping her arms around his torso as he hugged her around the shoulders.

"Don't you _ever _scare me like that again," she said tearfully, smacking his chest half-heartedly. James grinned and nodded. Emily sniffed and walked over to hug Remus similarly. Daniel walked over to his son and pulled him into a hug.

"And you!" Daniel said after wiping his eyes on James's shirt, turning to Lily, who was sitting on the bed. Lily smiled at him weakly and Daniel pulled her into a hug, swinging her around. Lily gasped and Daniel put her down fearfully. James hurried over to Lily and he pushed her back down on the bed.

"She's not okay yet," Sirius explained to Daniel.

"I'm sorry!" he squeaked, and Lily grinned.

"No worries," she sighed.

"Are you okay Lils?" James asked, and Lily nodded, biting her lip.

"Back downstairs," Hestia announced, and Lily groaned.

"No! I don't want to," she whined.

"Lily, James will be here later, let's go," Hestia said sternly. Lily flushed but allowed her best friend to take her hand. Hestia pulled her up gently and Emily put her hands on Lily's shoulders, helping her up slowly

"Ugh I feel like I'm pregnant," Lily grumbled, and Emily laughed

"Are you hiding something from us?" Daniel smirked, and Lily threw him a scathing look.

"I understand you," Hestia said, and Lily grinned at her best friend. The three boys, however, were standing clueless, having absolutely no idea how someone could 'feel' pregnant.

"I'll help," Emily said, coming up on the other side of Lily and slinging Lily's arm around her shoulders. Hestia put Lily's other arm around her own shoulders and stood up. Lily was barely touching the floor.

"If I wanted to fly I would've used a broom," Lily grumbled, and they all chuckled.

"Maybe she should walk a little," Remus said, and Emily nodded

"Makes sense"

"Are you sure?" James asked worriedly, and Emily threw him an irritated look before putting Lily back on the floor. Lily swayed slightly and Emily and Hestia wound their elbows through Lily's.

"Come on, take a step," Hestia said. Lily put a foot in front and took a step, and then groaned, "What?" Hestia asked worriedly. Lily collapsed on her knees, unconscious, and Hestia screamed, "Lily!"

James jumped off the bed and scooped her up in his arms. He ran down the stairs to the second floor, everyone on his heels. Healer Laura, noticing Lily, gasped and directed James to her bed. James laid her down gently.

"Leave," the healer commanded, pointing to the door. They all yelled in protest, but the healer only snapped her fingers. An intern walked over and ushered them out of the ward, ignoring their yells, and curses on the boys' part. The intern shut the door and sealed it, leaving them all outside in the stairway.

"Open the bloody door!" Hestia screamed, slapping the door. Sirius put his arms around Hestia's middle and led her up the stairs, "No! Sirius!"

"Let them concentrate," he said, looking at the door. Hestia nodded tearfully. The door opened and they all jumped, and the intern stuck her head out.

"You're both released," she said, looking at Sirius and Hestia, before shutting the door.

"Let's go upstairs," Daniel suggested, and, ignoring all the glares, ushered them up the stairs. There was a yell behind them and they turned to see Lily's parents standing there.

"How did you get here?" Hestia asked.

"Er, this man with a really long white beard," Andrew said, and they all smiled slightly. Dumbledore. Of course, "Where's Lils?" he asked.

There was a drawn out shriek from inside the ward, and James paled. Andrew looked at James, and then inside, and all the blood seemed to drain from his body. Jane's lower lip puckered and she walked over to the door. She started knocking.

"They wont open it," Emily said gently, and Jane turned to narrow her eyes at her.

"I don't care, that's my baby in there," she hissed, and continued knocking on the door. The door opened a crack and the intern stuck her head out irritably.

"I'm sorry ma'am but you're no- excuse me!" Jane had pushed past the intern, and was inside the ward. Andrew nodded to them all before squeezing in after them.

"I'm sorry ma'am you can't be in here," Healer Laura said, but Jane only glared at her.

"That's my daughter," she said. The healer eyed the woman's hair, the exact shade of Lily's, and sighed.

"It's okay Becky," she said to the intern, who shut the door and grumbled away, "Please," the healer said, leading them into the ward.

They all sat up quickly as Lily ran into the ward a few hours later.

"Lily?" James breathed, and Lily grinned. She ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck, "You're okay!" he said gleefully, as Lily's parents followed her into the ward.

"I'm okay," she grinned. They all laughed and cheered happily and began engulfing the redhead in hugs.

"What was wrong?" Emily asked desperately.

"They forgot to get a spot," Andrew said irritably.

"Apparently the burn thing was on the front as well," Jane said, "Honestly Lily do you not notice if your stomach is hurting?"

"I thought it was a stomach ache!" Lily squeaked and Sirius snorted

"That's what your stomach ache was?"

"You knew she had a stomach ache?" James asked Sirius.

"I called the Healer! She even checked Lily's stomach! Actually I saw your stomach," Sirius said, turning to Lily, ignoring James's look of incredulity, "I didn't see a burn"

"Yeah, she didn't look in the right place," Lily said, "She only looked till my belly button, she didn't look by my ribs," she said, and Sirius rolled his eyes

"Stupid people"

"Sirius!" Lily chastised, and Sirius shrugged.

"Okay," Emily said, putting her hands up, "We're all okay, let's just go home?"

* * *

"Carefully…Carefully…_carefully!" _James squeaked

"Shut up shut up shut up!" Sirius yelled at James, as he carried Lily through to her room. She had been released that morning after being violently sick the previous night. The Healers, not the same one as Sirius had yelled at, had performed a full, thorough check up on Lily under the fierce glares of James and Sirius, before releasing her.

James was still a bit too weak to carry Lily, which the Healers had advised. Lily was subjected to a whole day of bed rest.

"This is ridiculous!" Lily whined, as Sirius and James tucked her into her bed, ignoring her weak attempts to ward them off.

"You need bed rest," Hestia said sternly, walking in behind the boys, arms crossed.

"You do too!"

"Not as much as you,"

"Go die," Lily mumbled, pulling the covers over her head, causing her three best friends to chuckle. Remus had gone to his parents' house for the night, as they had been in almost tears when they visited St. Mungos, "I wish Remus was here," she continued mumbling, "He always listens to me"

"He's on our side in this situation," Sirius said, amused at the expression on James's face; mingled amusement and exasperation. James chuckled lightly as a grumble sounded through the covers, "Maybe we should leave her alone to brood in her miserable bed resting situation," Sirius suggested amusedly, grinning wickedly at the lump underneath the blanket

"Jerk," Lily muttered, and Sirius barked a laugh.

"I love you too Lily-flower! Now get better soon so that Prongsie here can have a nice good snog because, Merlin forbid, he doesn't release his sexual urges"

"Where did that come from?" James spluttered, as Hestia choked out peals of laughter. Lily's giggles could be heard through the blanket and Sirius was grinning extravagantly

"Er, motivation?" he suggested, winking cheekily, before grabbing Hestia's arm and running from the room before James could do anything to him. James rolled his eyes as Sirius shut the door and walked over to the empty side of Lily's bed, and sitting down, leaning his back against the headboard and spreading his legs out on the bd.

"Are you wearing shoes?" Lily asked, and James looked down at his feet, panicking; Lily _hated _shoes on her bed. He quickly pulled his shoes off and threw them onto the floor. He forgot, however, to factor in the fact that shoes landing on a wooden floor tend to make noise, "James!" Lily shrieked pulling the blanket off her face and looking up at him with narrowed eyes

"I wasn't wearing shoes!" he said, sounding thoroughly like a liar, and Lily's mouth twitched slightly

"Well, if you weren't, what was that thumping noise?" she challenged, and James bit his lip, his mind searching wildly

"Sirius and Hestia," he blurted out, and Lily burst into laughter.

"You're insufferable," she chuckled, but nevertheless, shifted slightly so her head was resting on his thigh. James grinned down at her and untied her hair, so it was spread across his lap. Lily closed her eyes, humming tunelessly to herself as James started playing with, and braiding her hair. Lily frowned and looked up into James's hands to see what he was doing, "Are you _braiding my hair?" _she asked incredulously, and James flushed slightly, dropping her hair.

"Er, not anymore," he said cheekily, and Lily grinned up at him.

"I didn't know you could braid hair," she mused, playing with the sleeve of his shirt, where there was a magnificent rip, exposing his bicep. Lily secretly liked the rip. Lily sighed and began to sit up, but James put his hand on her head and pushed her back down, wincing slightly as her head came into violent contact with his thigh.

"Bloody _ow!" _he squeaked, in a very un-manly manner.

"That was your fault," Lily said, massaging the back of her head, "Why is your leg so bloody hard?" she grumbled, and James grinned cheekily

"It's called muscle my dear,"

"I resent your muscles," she grumbled, punching his thigh, and James yelped in surprise.

"Do not hurt the leg. I need that," he said in a matter-of-fact tone, and Lily snorted

"For what? To release those sexual urges Sirius was mentioning?" she teased, a smirk spreading across her face, and James narrowed his eyes down at her. She was feeling rather proud of herself, "You would think you'd mention those to me before him," she continued, turning around to lie on her stomach, resting her chin on his thigh, "Then again, I guess after six years of it, you're used to going to him when you need to relieve those sexual urges," she said, looking up at James. She grinned as he glared down at her and rolled onto her pillow, lying on her side and looking up at him.

"For the last time, I am not gay," he said in an overtly patient tone, and Lily snorted

"Okay, I'll pretend to believe that," she said

"What would you do if I was gay?" he gasped, using his wand to fix the rip in his shirt, which he liked rather a lot. Lily grumbled to herself as James's bicep was covered up by stupid cotton. Damn him for fixing the shirt.

"I'd go after my real love," she said matter-of-factly, and James looked down at her with raised eyebrows

"If you say Moony I'll kill you,"

"Oh no," she gasped, "I was talking about the one and only Mr. Black," she winked, and James rolled his eyes

"You realize if I was gay, he would be too right?" he smirked

"No actually," she said, holding up her pointer finger, as she usually did when trying to make a point, "This is Sirius Black we're talking about. He would perform sexual acts with, er, with a, damn it my brain cant come up with anything creative," she grumbled, and James laughed, and leaned down to kiss her.

"Will you go out with me tomorrow night?" James asked, and Lily looked up at him.

"This is weird, you don't usually ask," she said warily, and James gave her a blank look, "Let me correct myself," she said, "You haven't asked since I said yes after six years of pestering," she finished with a grin, and James guffawed, grinning down at her.

"That's more like it. I feared you had forgotten my valiant efforts," he said dramatically, and Lily rolled her eyes

"They were hardly valiant,"

"They were too!" James gasped, "I had flowers!"

"Yes, you had lilies, incredibly cheesy," Lily teased, and James pouted

"I thought it was romantic"

"I need to teach you more about romance," she sighed dramatically, and James grinned down at her, "What?" she said after a minute of James just smiling down at her. James reached a hand out and stroked her face from her forehead and down along her jaw-line with his fingertips, bringing up goosebumps wherever his fingers touched, as well as on Lily's arms and legs.

_Why? Why does my body do this to me? Why does this happen? _Lily sighed internally, slightly irritably, as more goosebumps rose as James brushed the back of his hand along her cheekbone. She hated getting goosebumps. The feeling that started from her shoulder blades and seemed to explode and spread in different directions leaving an odd pins and needles feeling everywhere. Damn goosebumps.

"What?" she asked again, as James continued to look down at her, "James!" she said, sitting up quickly, and regretting it as she suffered from a severe equilibrium deficit and fell back onto the pillow.

"Are you okay?" James asked worriedly, pulling her arm off her face and looking down at her worriedly.

"I'm fine James, honestly," Lily grumbled, pushing herself up slowly, as to avoid yet _another _head rush, "Answer my question now," she said, brushing her hair to the side. James grinned at her, after looking at her hair with wide awestruck eyes.

"Pardon?"

"Pardon? That's the singularly most polite thing you've ever said in my company," Lily teased, and James stuck his tongue out at her, before running his hand through his own hair, messing it around.

"Oh be quiet Evans," he sighed, "And I honestly don't remember what you asked"

"Why were you looking at me like that?" she asked exasperatedly. James shrugged and leaned forwards, kissing her lightly on the forehead. She was so stupid; that is how you look at someone after almost losing each other. Some bookworm she was.

"Go to sleep Lils," he said quietly against her forehead, and jumped off the bed agilely.

"Be careful! You're still weak!" she squeaked, and James rolled his eyes

"I, James Potter, am not weak," he said defiantly, and Lily grinned quickly.

"Yes, okay James, you are the epitome of masculinity," she said, her voice heavy with sarcasm, which James ignored, and chose to look smug instead, "Now stop jumping around, I'm going to have a coronary"

"You love me that much," he teased, and Lily threw him a scathing look before lying down, pulling her covers over her head, "I love you too," he chuckled. He walked over to Lily's side of the bed, and pulled the covers off her face. He kissed her softly, before standing up, grinning down at her amused expression, and covering her face again.

"James!" Lily spluttered, pushing the blanket away from her face, her hair sprawled everywhere.

"You never answered my question," James said suddenly, and Lily frowned up at him.

"James a lot of questions have been asked," she said, rubbing her forehead, and James grinned.

"Will you go out with me tomorrow night, Evans?" he asked, and Lily flushed

"Oh, that question"

"Yes, that question," he chuckled, and Lily bit her lip

"One condition," she said, and James's eyebrows rose, "You have to kiss me before you leave," she said sternly. James laughed loudly and nodded, "Then yes," she smiled, "Now, I'm waiting," she said, looking up at him expectantly.

James grinned and got down on his knees, as Lily sat up, so he was lower than her. He grabbed her face in both of his hands and kissed her gently, but Lily didn't want that. She grabbed his hair and pulled his face even closer to hers. James responded with more than enough enthusiasm, pushing Lily back so she was lying down and he was on top of her.

"SHE NEEDS REST!" they broke apart to see Hestia, flushing, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, both amused and irritated. Sirius was standing behind her, snickering slightly, "Get up, now!" Hestia said imperiously, glaring at James. James sighed and made to get up, but Lily grabbed his hair, not letting him up, "Lily!" Hestia chastised, as James grinned down at Lily. Ignoring Hestia, Lily leaned up a little and captured his lips again. "Do something!" Hestia squeaked, gesturing towards the kissing couple, looking at Sirius. Sirius sniggered and pulled his wand out.

"You're going to get me murdered Hest," he chuckled, and waved his wand. James flew off Lily and landed right next to Hestia, looking slightly dazed. He blinked and then looked over at Sirius with narrowed eyes

"Isn't this slightly hypocritical considering what you two were just doing?" Lily asked irritably, and Hestia flushed deep maroon.

"How did you-?" Hestia spluttered, and Lily's eyes widened in surprise.

"You were? I just took a shot there," she grinned at James who guffawed. Sirius barked a laugh and shook his head.

"Completely different," he said awkwardly, "You need bed rest"

"Well, to be fair, she was on the bed," James said matter-of-factly, and winked at Lily, who blushed furiously.

"She wasn't _resting_," Sirius retorted, his voice straining from trying to hold back a laugh.

"No more of this," Hestia said sternly, sounding like Professor McGonagall. She grabbed James's ear, yes, his ear, and began to lead the yelping James out of the room, "She needs rest and she won't get it with you here,"

"Hestia get off my ear!" they heard James yell and Lily laughed quietly. Sirius grinned at her and sat down next to her.

"You feeling better?"

"Sort of," Lily nodded, knowing the simple 'yes' wouldn't work with Sirius, who had been watching her like her hawk since the day before. Sirius nodded and Lily smiled at him, "Thank you," she said quietly, and Sirius looked at her incredulously

"For what?"

"Well, you're being all concerned and big brotherly, and it's really comforting, so thank you," she smiled sweetly, and Sirius grinned at her. He ruffled her hair before standing up

"Honestly Evans you're ridiculous," he said, trying to cover up the emotion that had come over him. Lily saw it though, and smiled her herself

"SIRIUS! SHE CANT REST WITH YOU THERE EITHER!" Sirius sighed as Hestia's voice sounded and looked down at Lily with an irritable expression, causing Lily to giggle,

"She's going to make me crazy that one," he grumbled, and with a kiss on top of Lily's head, he walked out of the room, "Au Revoir mon cherie!" he yelled loudly and obnoxiously, before shutting the door behind him. Lily giggled and lay down, staring up at the ceiling.

After five minutes of counting bumps on the ceiling, she huffed and sat up. She could hear the dulcet tones of the A-Team through her bedroom door and grumbled. Honestly, how Hestia expected her to rest whilst attractive men ran across the screen, she would never know.

Lily got out of bed, ignoring the wobbliness of her legs, and walked to her closet. She pulled out a comfortable pair of pajamas, that looked likes he was meant to be 5 years old, what, with a collar and matching pants and a cheesy childish cartoons, and walked out of the room, wearing fluffy bunny slippers. She walked into the TV room to see all three of them watching the TV with rapt attention. Sirius noticed her first and grinned as he saw what she was wearing.

"Nice jim-jams Evans," he snickered and the other two's heads snapped to look at her. James grinned as he saw her slippers but Hestia had narrowed eyes

"You're supposed to be resting!" she squealed, but Lily's eyes were transfixed on the attractive blond man running across the screen, "Oh, of course," Hestia giggled, "Your lover's here, you cant possibly be there," she said. Lily winked at Hestia and continued to watch as her dream blond man punched some guy in the nose.

"Her _what_?" James asked, and Sirius sniggered.

"Jealous Prongs?"

"No," James lied. Lily grinned and walked over to James, to sit down next to him. Lily crossed her legs, and took James's hand.

"Oh she's in heaven now," Hestia teased, nudging Lily, "you're watching him and you're in close proximity with him," Hestia said, nodding to each 'him' respectfully. James rolled his eyes and Lily laughed, "Surprised you haven't exploded of lust,"

"Excuse-me?" Lily squeaked, as Sirius and James erupted in laughter, "What about you? You've got Sirius and him," she said, and Hestia flushed deeply, "What was that thing you talked about last week about, what was it?" Lily asked rhetorically, turning to James, who was smiling down at her, "something you would do if you had both of them in the same room," Lily smirked, as Hestia gasped and Sirius's eyes twinkled

"I want to hear this story!" Sirius said slyly, and Hestia threw Lily a withering look.

"Nothing, nobody, nothing," Hestia mumbled, looking down at the floor. Lily grinned, satisfied, and leaned on James's shoulder.

"Hest!" Sirius whined, nudging her repeatedly, "What _would _you do if you had us in the same room?" Hestia flushed furiously and looked anywhere but at Sirius and the screen, as if the man on the screen was watching her with the same amused and impatient expression as her boyfriend was.

"I hate you, you know that? I hate you from the bottom of my heart," Hestia said, enunciating the last few words of emphasis, glaring at Lily, before stalking out of the room. Lily laughed and James chuckled, pulling her onto his lap.

"Lily-flower!" Sirius whined, turning to her instead, after looking lustfully after his girlfriend, whose legs were completely exposed, in his defense.

"Yes Sirius?" Lily said innocently. James snickered into Lily's hair and kissed her softly behind the ear, causing her to jump slightly.

"What did she want to do?" Sirius asked desperately. He slid off the couch and got down on his knees in front of her, holding his hands in front of him, clasped, as if he were begging, "Tell me what she would do! I will do anything! Anything! I'll even-I'll even," Sirius looked around quickly for inspiration, "I'll even snog your bunny slippers!"

Lily erupted in laughter, as did James, "You don't ha-"

"No!" James said quickly, covering Lily's mouth, "I'd actually like to see that," he chuckled. Lily turned to threw James an incredulous look, and James shrugged, "The things he's made me do in Truth or Dare, you'd feel the same way in my position," he said darkly, and Lily shuddered, imagining the things Sirius had put her poor boyfriend through.

"Fine," Lily said, and James grinned.

"Okay Padfoot, she'll tell you if you follow through with your promise and snog the slipper," James said, and Lily giggled. In her defense, that was an odd sentence. Sirius threw James an irritable look, before sighing deeply

"A man's got to do what a man's got to do," he said, and then yanked a slipper off of Lily's foot. Lily squeaked and covered her face.

"I can't watch. You're befouling my bunny slippers!"

"How long?" Sirius asked, bored, ignoring Lily. James frowned, thinking, for a second, before grinning wickedly down at Sirius

"A minute,"

"_A minute? _You've got to be joking!" Sirius squeaked, and James sniggered, shaking his head.

"No, no, you made me do, er, that _thing _in sixth year for a minute," James said awkwardly, his glance flickering to Lily, whose head snapped up, curious.

"What did you make him do?" she asked, looking at Sirius, who grinned wickedly

"I'll have you know, Lily-flower, you are not the only person whom our Prongsie here has snogged, _male _or female," Sirius winked, and James's face fell into a grimace as Lily winced.

"I don't want to know!" she squealed, closing her eyes and covering her ears. Sirius snickered wickedly and James turned to him with a clenched jaw.

"Go ahead," James said, nodding towards the slipper in Sirius's hands. Sirius grimaced and then shook his head, preparing himself

"Brace yourself slipper, for the best snog of your life."

A minute of inappropriate noises, Lily's squeals, James's snickers, and violated slippers later, Sirius tossed the slipper aside, wiping at his mouth.

"Disgusting," he muttered, and then smiled serenely at Lily, as he carefully put the no longer innocent slipper back on her foot. Lily shrieked and kicked it off, resulting in it flying across the room, "That was rude," Sirius said, and Lily giggled, "Now tell me!" he whined.

"Fine, come here," said Lily, waving Sirius forwards. Sirius eagerly obeyed, stopping in front of Lily. Lily leaned forwards and whispered in Sirius's ears, and Sirius felt a wicked grin spread across his face. If that's what she wanted, that's what she was going to get.

Sirius jumped up quickly and almost sprinted out of the room out of desperation. James snickered and then looked at Lily, "What was it?"

"Nothing," Lily said, and James rose his eyebrows, "I don't want to think about what those two are doing in there," she said darkly. James grimaced and nodded in understanding. Hestia's squeal sounded through the apartment and they both groaned, "Can we go to your flat?" Lily asked desperately, as Hestia squealed again.

"I thought you'd never ask," James said, his eyes squeezed shut. His hold on Lily tightened and Lily felt the familiar, unpleasant tugging at her navel, and they were gone.

* * *

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" they opened their eyes to see a disheveled Peter Pettigrew standing there, arms crossed, furious. James felt his stomach drop; they hadn't told Peter anything, "I COME HOME AND DON'T HEAR FROM _ANY _OF YOU FOR TWO DAYS! EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!" he yelled, and James looked at Lily pleadingly

"Well, er, where to start," James says awkwardly. He was saved, however, by a popping noise, signifying the arrival of another to witness the terrible scene. He turned and then groaned as he saw Sirius standing there with a glazy look in his eyes. Sirius was going to be no help.

"Hello all!" Sirius said jubilantly, and Lily had to control her gag reflex.

"EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" Peter yelled at Sirius, and Sirius paled, coming to the same conclusion as James had.

"Well, er, you see," he started, but was miraculously saved by a pop, and Remus appeared behind Peter.

"ARRGGGHHH!" Peter yelled angrily, and stormed out of the flat.

"We didn't tell him anything," Remus said guiltily, and then shrugged, "Oh well, he'll come around, he always does…hello," he says cheerfully to the redhead, who grinned and threw her arms around his neck, "Shouldn't you be resting?" he asked, and Lily huffed as Sirius and James chortled.

"Told you he'd be with us on this one," Sirius teased.

"We should get her to bed," James said seriously, looking down at Lily, who was, to be honest, looking slightly peaky.

"We should, come on," Remus said imperiously. Lily groaned, but all the same, felt three pairs of hands urge her towards James's room.

"Cant I go home and sleep?" she whined, and Remus shook his head

"Not at all my dear, you wont sleep," he said, "I know you," he grinned, as they pushed the door to James's room open

"But I'm not tired!" she squealed, as a strong set of arms, she didn't know whose, threw her onto the bed.

"Tough noogies," Sirius said, and Lily giggled

"Tough _noogies_?" James asked exasperatedly, "That phrase is a paradox in itself," he snorted, and Sirius stuck his tongue out at his best mate

"Oh grow up," Remus grumbled. He pulled his wand out and Lily felt herself frozen to the bed, "now," he said calmly and far too sweetly, "You may move around and speak and everything, but your body isn't leaving this bed for eight hours," he grinned. The three boys threw the furious redhead innocent cheeky glances, before turning around and making their way out of the room.

"You're all bloody jerks!" Lily yelled after them as they left the room, "Insolent, conniving, horrible, bloody wankers, the lot of you!"

"Love you too Lily!"

"Rest!"

"Merlin help you I'll-"

"Goodnight Lils!" James yelled, and then shut the door.

* * *

James walked into his bedroom a while later to see a grumpy redhead, lying down, arms crossed, staring at the ceiling. He bit back a laugh and walked over to the bed. Seeing him, Lily threw him a nasty glance and turned to look the other way.

"No I don't want to talk to you, go away," she said irritably. James bit his lip, before lying down on his side of the bed, crossing his legs, "I said I didn't want to talk to you!"

"I'm not talking to you," he shrugged, "I'm lying down"

"Lie down somewhere else," she grumbled, and James grinned

"This is _my _bed Evans,"

"Whatever Potter, go lie down somewhere else," James turned to face Lily, who was facing away from him, and chuckled silently.

"What if I don't want to?" he asked quietly, wrapping his arms around Lily's middle from behind, and burying his face in her hair. Lily held her legs extremely stiff, trying to stifle the tremble she was sure was going to betray her any second now.

"Tough," she said, and she felt James smile into her hair.

"Don't you want me here?" he asked, and Lily groaned. He had won, and he knew it. She turned around irritably and glared up at him, "What are you thinking right now?" he grinned, brushing her hair out of her face.

"I'm thinking, I want to murder you," she said irritably, but wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer. James grinned and held her tenderly around her waist.

"Good, good, at least I know this is the same Lily Evans I've loved for seven years," he chuckled, and Lily hit the back of his head lightly.

"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep"

"Sure you are, is that what you were doing for, what, the last four hours?"

"No, I was busy plotting murders for the three of you," she said, and James laughed, "Now I am trying to sleep. What were _you _doing for the last four hours?"

"I? I went to your parents house,"

"_What_?" Lily squeaked, pulling back quickly to look him in the eyes, "What were you doing at my parents house?"

"Nothing," James said quickly, and Lily frowned at him.

"I'll find out," she taunted.

"You will, just not now," James grinned, and kissed her forehead gently, "Now to go sleep I'm sleepy,"

"Why are _you _sleepy?" she asked exasperatedly, and he chuckled

"Because you're really stressing my mind here," he said, and Lily giggled.

"Fine," she sighed, burying her face in James's chest and wrapping her arms around his torso, "I will sleep"

"Good girl"

"Shut up"

"Oh, hey, will you be okay for tomorrow?" James asked, and Lily frowned up at him, "Auror Academy…our date…?"

"Right!" she squeaked, and James grinned, "I'm fine right now,"

"Yes but we're not going now,"

"Please?" she whined, and James shook his head. Lily huffed and buried her face in his chest once again, rather violently, but James didn't notice.

"Go to sleep I'll see you in the morning,"

"I love you Potter"

"Now that's a weird phrase," he chuckled, and Lily grinned into his shirt, "I love you too Evans"

* * *

"Can you believe we're graduating soon?" Lily asked excitedly, as they walked out of Academy the next day.

"Really?" Daniel asked, coming up to them, "The Academy is usually three years!" he squeaked, and Emily rolled her eyes

"Honestly Daniel you don't pay attention do you?" she teased, "They squeezed all that time into one year because we're in desperate need of Aurors," she said. Daniel nodded and then grinned down at the laughing teenagers.

"When is the graduation?" Daniel asked

"Exactly 12 days from now," Sirius said, swinging his arm around Daniels shoulders, "Hello Papa P!"

"Hello Sirius," Daniel chuckled

"12 days?" Remus gasped, "Merlin!"

"He's worried about his wardrobe," Sirius muttered to Lily, who giggled.

"OI!" Remus said, flushing, and Lily smiled at him

"You know it's true Moony," James teased, and Remus sighed dramatically

"You know me too well," he said, his voice oozing of sarcasm, and they all laughed.

"Actually, what _are _you guys planning on wearing?" Lily asked, and the boys all looked down at her, amused, "What?"

"Are you honestly asking that question?" James chuckled, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh you know what," she said, as the boys started sniggering, "This is your girlfriends fault," she said, jabbing a finger at Sirius, before disapparating, as the boys laughed even harder.

"Oh be quiet," Emily said irritably, "what _are _you going to wear?" The boys stopped laughing and frowned, "Exactly," Emily huffed, before walking away from them. Daniel grinned at the boys and followed after his wife.

"We need help," James said, and the two other nodded.

"Off we go," Remus said, grabbing is two best friends and disapparating.

* * *

"HESTIA?"

"What on earth?" Lily said, turning to the sound of Sirius's voice. Hestia looked at the door and soon enough, it flew open, revealing three boys.

"What are you doing here?" Hestia asked

"Er, wardrobe help," Remus said ,and the two girls burst into a fit of giggles, "I have one condition though," he said, "I am _not _wearing tight pants again." They all burst into laughter remembering Lily and Hestia's plan back in Hogwarts.

"Honestly you're all pathetic," Hestia said, looking around at the to be Aurors, "Sit," she said, pointing imperiously at the sofa.

* * *

When they were done with, what Lily could only refer to as torture, Sirius and Remus disapparated, going back to their flat.

"Er, aren't you going to leave too?" Hestia asked, frowning at James. Lily turned around quickly and quirked an eyebrow at her boyfriend, who threw her an exasperated look.

"We have a date," he said matter-of-factly, and Lily's eyes widened

"Right!" she squeaked, and James chuckled.

"You do? Oh Merlin, James get out!" Hestia squeaked. Both Lily and James frowned at Hestia, who ignored them, "I need to get Lily ready," she said and James nodded.

"Why can't I go like this?" Lily asked, looking down at her jeans and camisole. Hestia only shook her head in a pitying manner and waved a grinning James out of the bedroom. James closed the door behind him and Hestia pointed her wand at Lily, who groaned, "Hest! I want to be comfortable!"

"That's what magic is for," Hestia said sternly, and waved her wand. Lily looked down at her clothes to see a mini skirt and an inappropriately tight and exposing top.

"I am not wearing this," she said sternly, looking down at her chest, which she hadn't seen as much of since she'd taken a shower, "No, change this immediately," Lily said. Hestia sighed.

"You take all the fun out of life," Hestia grumbled, and waved her wand. Lily looked down to see a top, just as tight, but not as revealing, and sighed. That was as good as she was going to get.

"Fine," Lily grumbled, and Hestia grinned happily. She left Lily's hair open, and then sent her out of her room.

"Have fun!"

"Yes, yes, whatever," Lily mumbled. She looked up to see James standing, facing away from her, "I'm ready," she announced, and James turned around, and his eyes widened as he took her in, "Er, what?" Lily asked uncomfortably, as his eyes looked over her outfit

"Well, nobody's ever going to assume you've been sick," he muttered, and Lily grinned. James winked at her and then took her hand, "Shall we?" Lily nodded and was pulled into the unknown, "Where are we?" she asked, as she looked around the crowded street.

"I wanted to have a muggle date," he shrugged, and Lily grinned at him.

"Why?"

"Because we've never been on one," James shrugged, and Lily laughed

"And how did you come up with this idea?"

"Well, you see, I went to your parents house yesterday, and we planned this whole thing out," Lily grinned and leaned on his shoulder.

"Do you know the way around?" Lily asked curiously, as James began to lead her through a revolving door.

"Yes, your parents brought me here yesterday," he said, looking around the revolving door gleefully.

"And I'm going to assume this door is still extremely amusing?" she teased, and James stuck his tongue out at her.

"Muggles have the coolest stuff," he declared, stepping out of the revolving door, and looking around the mall, "But we can do the coolest things," he declared, leading Lily towards an escalator, "How do these work?" he asked excitedly, as he jumped onto it like a little child. He rubbed his shoes against the bristles on the sides and Lily laughed.

"You know, you're not supposed to do that," she said

"Why?"

"I don't know actually," she frowned. She, Lily Evans, had never questioned a rule.

"Then I shall continue," he said cheekily. They reached the top of the escalator and James jumped off agilely, and Lily, rolling her eyes, stepped off like normal people did.

"So what are we doing?" she asked, and James grinned

"We're going to watch a movie,"

"Have you ever done this before?" Lily asked incredulously, as James stepped into the line at the ticket counter.

"No," he said honestly, "But I know how to use muggle money now," he said cheerfully, and Lily grinned.

"What movie are we watching?"

"There are different choices?" he asked, eyes wide, and Lily laughed.

"Yes James, there are lots of choices, you see those posters there," she said, pointing to the wall by the ticket counter, "Those are our choices," James frowned at them and then looked down at her, afraid, "Should I choose?" she asked sweetly, and James nodded enthusiastically. Lily grinned and looked at the posters.

"Which one?" James asked, and Lily grinned and pointed to a poster, "Really?" Lily nodded and James rolled his eyes, "Er, can we have two tickets to E.T. please?" The woman behind the counter grunted and handed him his two tickets. James paid up and grinned at Lily triumphantly

"Come on," she said, amused, and dragging him towards the theatre.

"No! Can we get food?" James asked excitedly, pulling her towards the food counter. Lily laughed and watched as James bounced excitedly to the counter. The boy, no older than twenty, behind the counter winked at Lily, and James crossed his arms irritably. The boy looked at James fearfully and turned his attention back to the cash register.

"Can we have two butter popcorns please?" Lily asked politely. The boy nodded and handed them two butter popcorns, and after James smacked the money onto the counter, Lily took the popcorns and was herded by her overprotective boyfriend towards the theatre. They walked inside and James sat down in the first seat he could find, "What are you doing?" Lily asked, amusedly.

"Er, sitting?"

"That's not our seat," she chuckled. James frowned and allowed Lily to lead him to their actual seats, "These are our seats"

"How do you know?" he asked, looking at the chair as if it had his name on it.

"We have seat numbers James," she said patiently. James nodded and Lily sat him down at his seat, before sitting down in hers.

"What now?" he asked excitedly, and Lily grinned.

"Now, we wait," she said. James nodded and looked around, as if his eyes couldn't see everything fast enough.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to one of the speakers on the ceiling.

"That's a speaker," Lily said patiently, "It's where the noise comes from,"

"Like a sonorous charm?" he asked excitedly, with wide eyes.

"Er, sure," she chuckled, and he nodded happily.

"Where does the movie play?" he asked, looking around. Just then, the lights dimmed, "Merlin!" he squeaked, grabbing onto Lily's forearm. Lily giggled and took his hand, and squeezed it reassuringly. James jumped a foot in the air as the large 'Universal' logo flashed across the screen, and a person riding a bicycle flew over the moon. Music started to play and Lily looked at James, whose eyes were wide with wonder, "Merlin," he breathed.

Lily spent the whole movie watching James instead of the movie. She was afraid his eyes were going to dry up from lack of blinking. She giggled as emotions played across his face, especially when he started to cry. James wasn't paying attention to her though, he was busy watching the movie, his eyes flying across the screen so fast as if he wanted to watch ever square inch at a time. When the movie was over, they left the movie theatre, James jumping up and down like a three year old.

"Merlin Lily did you see that? That was so cool! Muggles are amazing! Bloody wow! How did they make the alien thing? Did they transfigure a real person? No but muggles cant use magic, obviously, as they're _muggles. _But then how did they do it? Lily! Lily!" he said with bright wide excited eyes. Lily grinned and kissed his cheek.

"You're such a child James," she chuckled. James continued to bounce about, discussing how amazing muggles were and how he wanted to live in the cinema, and how when he got married he would build one in his house. Lily listened, was only beginning to hit her just how much magical folk missed out on. They didn't have movies for Merlin's sakes!

Lily blinked as James's finger suddenly appeared in front of her face, "Er, what?" she asked, as he looked at her intently, still holding his finger out. He made a squealing sound in the back of his throat and jumped up and down, waving his finger in her face

"Do it!" Lily frowned and held her pointer finger out just as he had. He grinned happily and pushed the tip of his fingers against hers, "E.T phone home!" he said in a passable imitation of the alien, and Lily burst out laughing. James laughed along with her and put his arm around her shoulders as they walked down the street, "Lils that was so amazing!"

"It was a really good movie," she said, marveling in the animation. How did people do that? She, Lily Evans, could barely use a computer, granted, she never needed to.

"Can we go watch the next one?"

"James, I don't think there's _going _to be a next one," she said, and James's face fell into a pout

"Why?"

"Because the storyline is over," she shrugged, and James sighed dejectedly, "There's always other movies!" That had the effect she had been hoping for, and James's eyes lit up instantly

"Can we go watch one?" he asked excitedly, tugging on her arm.

"Not now," she chuckled, "We'll go some other day, it's late," she said sternly, and James huffed.

"Fine,"

"How about this, we'll have a movie marathon?" she suggested. James grinned and nodded frantically, "Okay, but we should go back now," she said. James nodded, a lot less enthusiastically, and took Lily's hand, turning on the spot.

They landed and Lily gulped in a lot of air, "Some warning would have been nice!" she squeaked, clutching at her chest.

"Oh, sorry," he grinned cheekily, and Lily rolled her eyes. She looked around and found herself in her own bedroom, "Now go to sleep," he said sternly, tapping her nose playfully

"What? No kiss goodnight?" she asked in a faux-upset tone, and James laughed

"That will have to wait"

"For what?"

"Until we say goodnight," he said, and Lily snorted

"Why are you such a child?" she grumbled, and James snickered, "Goodnight James!"

"Goodnight love," he smiled, and leaned down to press his lips against hers, "Does that fulfill your requirements?" he teased, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him

"Cant say it does," she sighed, "I'm just putting up with you until Sirius is free." James narrowed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her, and Lily laughed, "Love you!"

"Love you too," he chuckled. He kissed her nose gently before turning on the spot.

* * *

Lily walked into Auror Academy the next day and bumped into a tall figure. She looked up irritably to see Gideon standing there, looking around with wide eyes. Lily followed his gaze and gasped. Instead of a room with desks, there was an entire street, clad with buildings and bustling people.

"Er, Gid are we in the right room?" she asked him, and Gid chuckled.

"My thoughts precisely red,"

"Hell-whoa," Sirius said, stopping right behind them, arms spread out wide. James stopped next to Sirius, and looked around with the same dumbfounded expression

"What's all this?" Remus asked, frowning as a young girl waved at him.

"This, Mr. Lupin, is your practical,"

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Hello! Sorry my updating sucks. I slept over at my friends' house and then went prom shopping so my apologies I was a bit distracted. Don't worry though! I don't like doing homework so I'll be doing the next chappie! **

**Happy fanfictioning!**


	11. Practical

**Hello everyone! Hope you like the chapter! Please review! it's a reward for _me _for writing (: haha**

**

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Disclaimer: I should make a recording for this. I don't own Harry Potter I don't own Harry Potter I don't own Harry Potter…get the picture?**

_**

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Previously:**_

"_What's all this?" Remus asked, frowning as a young girl waved at him. _

"_This, Mr. Lupin, is your practical," _

* * *

"Practical? For what?" Sirius asked dumbly, turning to look at Moody with a confused expression.

"To pass out of the Auror Academy and become an Auror," Moody said gruffly

"What if you don't pass?" Valerie asked, and Lily had to control an eye roll. Yes, Valerie, since you _are _going to fail, what will _you _do?

"If you fail, you do the Academy once more, or you're kicked out," Moody said bluntly, and Lily saw James and Sirius exchange a panic stricken glance. She squeezed Alice's forearm, and Alice nodded dumbly, "Warning, this is not an easy test to pass," he said, looking around at them all, "Last year, only four of my students passed,"

"Out of what?" Alice asked, pale

"Fourteen," Moody smirked, and Lily felt her heart beat quicken.

"Couldn't bloody tell us in advance…" Fabian muttered irritably, looking around, and Lily bit back a laugh. Unfortunately, Moody heard him.

"You think in the real world people are told in _advance _of an attack?" he growled, and Fabian pulled on the end of Lily's long red hair in frustration, and Lily smirked, "What are you smirking at?" Moody asked gruffly, looking at Lily, who shook her head, "Thought so, now, off you go," he said, waving them off.

"Er, sir, you haven't told us what to do," Lily said, and she could swear a grin flashed briefly across his face.

"That, Ms. Evans, you have to figure out for yourself," he said, looking at her amusedly, "I will, however, be assigning you partners,"

"Why?" Frank asked

"Because you will never, in your careers, go on a raid by yourself," Moody said, and Lily sighed, slightly relieved. She wasn't scared for herself, oh no, she was scared for James, "Now, partners," he said clapping his hands together

"Alastor," Sirius said in a completely formal tone, and Lily giggled, "May I say something?"

"Yes, you may," Moody chuckled.

"Lily is still slightly ill," he said, and Lily huffed, turning to glare at him. She could see the grins on James and Remus's faces and narrowed her eyes at James, who winked

"As are James and Remus," Lily butted in, and Moody smirked.

"I am fully aware of the situation," he said, holding up a hand as Sirius, after rolling his eyes, opened his mouth to continue, "And I have thought carefully about these pairings," he said. Sirius nodded and ignored the glares his three closest friends were throwing him, "You," he said, pointing to Valerie, whose gaze flickered quickly to James, "are with her," he said, pointing to Alice, who exhaled irritably.

Lily nudged Alice, who turned to her and rolled her eyes, before facing forwards again, "You," he said, pointing to Gid, "Are with him," he said, gesturing to Remus. The two boys grinned at each other, "You," he said, pointing to Fabian, who looked up quickly, "Are with him," he said, pointing to James, who subtly high-fived Fabian, "Longbottom," he said, and Lily laughed, "What?" he asked amusedly.

"Sorry, it's just, there's two of them in this class," Lily smiled, and Alice blushed furiously, as did Frank.

"Oh, of course," Moody smiled, "Mr. Longbottom," he said, exaggerating the 'Mr.', "You're with her," he said, indicating to the girl who spent most of her time with Valerie, Maddie.

"YAY!" Sirius cheered, and ran over to Lily, wrapping his arms around her gently and swinging her around, to the amusement of everyone else.

"Yes Mr. Black," Moody chortled, "You're with Ms. Evans"

"Did you hear that Lily-flower?" Sirius said excitedly, putting on the floor and jumping up and down.

"Yes, I have ears," Lily said irritably, and Sirius chuckled

"Why are you so grumpy?"

"Because I wont be able to concentrate with you bouncing the whole time," she teased, and Sirius laughed

"I will try to control myself,"

"You sure?" she teased.

"Sir yes sir," he said, snapping his legs together and saluting her. Lily giggled and linked her elbow through Sirius's. Moody had vanished, after telling them they weren't allowed to talk to the other groups, leaving them in the little town place, "So what shall we do?" he asked, and Lily turned to look at him exasperatedly

"Sirius, we're in the middle of a test!"

"Yes, but nothing's happening," he pointed out, "To be best prepared, I think we should be unprepared"

"I don't understand," Lily said bluntly. James, who was walking down the street with Fabian, turned to wink at her, and Lily grinned at him

"Of course you wouldn't," Sirius chuckled, as he led her towards one of the buildings, "I mean, in the real world," he said, imitating Moody, and Lily smirked, "We wont be standing around, wand at the ready, expecting an attack. No!" he yelled, and Lily jumped, as did multiple others, "we will be doing innocent things, such as sipping Butterbeers, when the attack occurs, so I think we should be normal until something happens," Sirius said.

"You're right," Lily sighed, and Sirius grinned happily, "Don't take it to your head, it'll inflate"

"That would be a good thing," Sirius said matter-of-factly, and Lily threw him an incredulous look

"Why would that be good?"

"Because, if my head inflates, I will grab you and we'll fly away so we'll escape the attack," he winked, and Lily snorted delicately.

"Makes sense that your head would fill with air," she teased, and Sirius gasped, clutching his chest dramatically.

"Lily-flower! Say it's not so!" he yelled, dropping to his knees and taking her hand. There were people in the town, other than their classmates, and they all turned to watch.

"Sirius get up!" Lily hissed, as a small crowd ended up watching them, "People will think you're going to propose!"

"How did you know?" he said dramatically, but standing up all the same, leading her into the first bar he could find. Lily laughed and then looked at the building, cocking her head to the side

"Do you think this is a real building?"

"As opposed to a hippogriff?" Sirius snorted, and Lily rolled her eyes

"You know what I mean"

"Shockingly, I do," he said, and Lily grinned, "I bet it is. Moody isn't anything, if not thorough." Lily nodded and then pushed the door of the pub open, to see a large, well-equipped place, full of booths and a large bar, "Can we just stay here?" Sirius asked, looking around in wonder, and Lily laughed.

"Don't get drunk Sirius, this is a test," she said sternly, and Sirius threw her a dirty look

"What do you take me for Evans?" he asked innocently, and Lily rolled her eyes, "I'll get the drinks, you get a booth," he instructed. Lily bowed and then walked away to find a booth, ignoring Sirius's chuckles. She chose one where she could see the street, and soon enough Sirius sat down across from her and handed her a bottle.

"I'm not drinking that," she said, looking at the Firewhisky bottle, and Sirius laughed loudly

"I win," he chuckled, wiping at his eyes

"Er, win what?"

"A bet"

"With who?"

"Whom Lily, whom," he corrected, and Lily raised her eyebrows, "That's right, Sirius Black is smart, soak it in," he said, spreading his arms wide, and Lily shook her head fondly

"With _whom?_"

"Myself"

"Then it doesn't count"

"Of course it does!"

"No it doesn't"

"YES IT DOES!"

"Alright! Sorry! It does," Lily said in a hushed voice, looking around at the heads turning to look at them, "What were you betting?"

"The Firewhisky bottle"

"Well, of course I wouldn't drink! We're in the-"

"Middle of a test, yes, I am well aware Evans, that's why that's Butterbeer"

"No it's not," she said, looking at the bottle, "This is a Firewhisky bottle"

"Exactly," he said, eyes grinning, "It's a Firewhisky _bottle_,"

"Oh my Merlin," Lily sighed exasperatedly, "Are you telling me you asked them to put _Butterbeer _in a _Firewhisky_ bottle?

"Yes, that's exactly what I told them to do," he grinned, and Lily chuckled. She lifted the bottle to her lips and then looked at him, "I swear," Lily still not believing him, lifted the bottle up and took a sniff.

"Okay I believe you," she announced, and took a swig.

"Thanks Lily-flower, you have so much faith in me," he said sarcastically, and Lily grinned at him cheekily. Sirius sighed and leaned back, resting his feet on the table, and bringing the Butterbeer bottle up to his lips.

"Sirius!"

"Yes?"

"Feet off the table!"

"Ah Evans, you're starting to sound like my dear old mum," he teased, and took his feet off the table, crossing his legs, "I'll have you know, that I was only getting in character," he said in a more serious tone, and Lily giggled.

"In character?"

"Yes, playing the neutral person unsuspecting of the attack," he said, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"You're _not _a neutral person," she said, and Sirius stuck his tongue out at her

"I am in this test"

"Merlin this is a tset!" she squeaked, and Sirius laughed

"You've been reminding me since it started," he pointed out, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him, "Er, sorry," he said cheekily, taking a sip of his Butterbeer, "What?" he asked, as Lily frowned, looking out the window

"Did Moody ever say it was an attack?"

"Er"

"Did he?" she asked, turning to Sirius, who frowned and thought back

"No actually," he said slowly, putting his bottle on the table, "We all just assumed it was,"

"We did," Lily said thoughtfully, looking out the window with a small crease in between her eyebrows

"What are you thinking?"

"Well, maybe it's not an attack. Maybe it's a hostage situation, or a dark object search, or maybe we're supposed to be aware of the people around us," she said, looking around, and noticing for the first time that glances kept flickering towards them.

"Maybe we should go outside," Sirius said quietly, noticing the glances as Lily had, and standing up. Lily stood up with him and they made their way out of the pub, looking around cautiously. Sirius took her hand in his and Lily held on to it, looking around frantically, her grip on her wand tightening, "Maybe we're just being paranoid," Sirius suggested.

However, his suggestion was ruled out as a scream sounded. They turned quickly to the source of the noise, which was coming from the pub they had just exited. Lily ran inside, followed by Sirius, to see a man lying dead on the floor, "Wha-" Lily started, but was cut off as an explosion sounded behind them. Sirius ran back outside to see the building down the street on fire

"What the hell?" he squeaked. Lily ran out after him and frowned at the fire.

"Come on," she said, sprinting towards the source of the fire, followed by Sirius. The others were all there, wands out, spraying water at the fire.

"No! No! This isn't going to work!" James yelled, waving his arms around, "All together, on three! One…Two…Three!"

"AGUAMENTI!" a collective yelled sounded, and a large sum of water flew at the building, extinguishing most of the fire

"Once more!" James yelled commandingly.

"AGUAMENTI!" the fire went out. They all breathed out a collective sigh of relief. Lily looked in through a window and saw something flicker. She gasped, and ran inside the building

"LILS!" she heard James's voice yell, but ran through the burned down door. She could hear footsteps behind her and saw Sirius running after her. Sirius followed her up the three flights of stairs, Lily with a rather large stitch in her side but continuing anyway, and saw a door with a large padlock on it.

"What's in there?" she turned around quickly to see James and Fabian standing behind her. Lily shrugged and pulled her wand out. There was a shriek from inside, and Lily winced slightly.

"Careful!" Fabian hissed, as she pointed her wand, hand shaking, at the door. She turned and threw him an irritated look, causing both James and Sirius to smile slightly

"Wait!" they turned to see Gid running up the stairs, Remus on his tail. He pulled his wand out quickly and pointed it at the lock, "Silencio!"

"It's not making any noise," Fabian said, looking at his brother, who ignored him

"When it opens it'll make a lot of noise," Remus explained, and Fabian nodded, patting his brother's shoulder. Gid snorted softly and Lily grinned

"Alohamora," she whispered, the boys falling silent, and the padlock opened, mercifully silently. She walked over to it and gently lifted it out of the lock, resting it gently on the floor. James walked around her and peered through a crack in the door

"Can you see anything?" Sirius whispered, and James shook his head

"There must be some sort of enchantment on it," Remus said. Lily pushed the boys out of the way and pushed the door gently. It opened a little, and Lily could see a woman standing with her back against the window, looking fearfully at a spot next to the door.

"Wait," Gid said, grabbing her shoulder. Lily carefully closed the door and turned to look at him, "We need a plan!"

"He's right," Sirius said, and Lily looked at him incredulously. Sirius Black, needing a plan? Galloping Gargoyles!

"What's it like in there?" James asked

"There's a scared woman leaning against the window, far side, and she's looking at a spot next to the door," she said.

"Okay, here's the plan," Fabian said quietly

"No! A plan wont work," Remus said, "We cant just assume the attackers position, or how many of them there are. We'll just have to go in there, wands out," he said. James nodded and Lily sighed

"I hate this plan," she grumbled, and then turned around, "ready?" she asked, and they nodded. She took a breath before pushing the door open, wand drawn, and stepping inside. The boys were right on her tail and they looked around to see three men in masks, with their wands out, pointing at the woman. Her face broke into a relieved expression as they ran in.

The cloaked men started dueling them, with incredible skill. James, Fabian, Gid and Remus were dueling the cloaked men, and Lily ran over to the woman, followed by Sirius.

"What happened?" she asked, as the woman grabbed onto Lily's forearm tightly

"They just appeared here," she said shakily. Lily nodded and then looked at the door, which was blocked by the duel.

"Out the window," Sirius said, looking at the window, and Lily looked at him irritably.

"How are we going to do that?"

"Levitate?" he suggested.

"We cant do that, we have to watch our backs for them," she said, nodding towards the Death Eaters, and Sirius nodded seriously. There was a tap on the window and Lily opened it to see Alice and Frank below with their partners, who were clinging on to each other.

"We got her!" Frank yelled, the two of them with their wands out. The woman smiled at Lily gratefully and then turned to the window. There was a flash and Lily put up a shield charm, the spell aimed at the woman flying back at the man who had fired it. Sirius helped the woman out of the window, whilst Lily ran over to join the duel, joined shortly by Sirius, after Alice and Frank had successfully levitated the woman out.

They managed to take down two of the men, but one, the most vicious, was left. He made to escape, but James waved his wand quickly and the man fell over, having run into the padlock, which James had levitated to height of the man's head.

"Resourceful," Fabian commented, and James grinned.

"Marauding does this to you," Sirius said wisely, and Lily rolled her eyes

"Come on, we have to find out what happened to that dead guy," Lily grumbled, and Fabian frowned

"You have a dead guy too?"

"_Too_?" Remus asked

"I think there's one in every building," Gid said thoughtfully, and Lily rolled her eyes

"Moody," she said through gritted teeth, and dragged Sirius out of the room.

"Lily-flower! We cant! James might find out!" Sirius yelled up the stairs, and they heard a phenomenal snort, "That's attractive," Sirius said loudly, and Lily laughed.

"I knew I wouldn't concentrate with you around," Lily sighed, and Sirius grinned at her. There was a jet of red light and Lily felt herself pulled onto the floor by Sirius, "I take it back?" she said in a squeaky voice, and the corners of his mouth turned up. They looked towards the source of the light to see lots of lights. Lily and Sirius ran, doubled over as to avoid getting hit, and finally reached the scene. They were outside the bar again and Alice and Frank were dueling wizards, Valerie and Maddie nowhere to be found.

"Someone's going to fail," Sirius sung under his breath, and Lily grinned. Sirius smirked slightly as the two ran over to assist Alice and Frank. Upon seeing their arrival, the figures disappeared, "Fear me!" Sirius said in a low voice, and Lily rolled her eyes as Alice and Frank laughed slightly

"You guys okay?" Lily asked, looking over Alice and Frank, who nodded.

"We're not supposed to be talking," Frank pointed out, looking around, making sure Moody wasn't there or something.

"Oh sod it," Lily grumbled, but she and Sirius walked away all the same, "Sirius?" she said, and he looked down at her

"Yes Lily-flower?"

"The dead bodies…didn't they say there was one in every building?" she asked, frowning. Sirius nodded

"I don't see where you're going with this"

"Maybe it's an army," she said thoughtfully, and Sirius's eyebrows rose

"Of Inferi?"

"Well it's possible," she mused, "There are dead bodies everywhere, it's a test, you never know," she finished. By this time, Sirius's eyes were wide

"Lily-flower, what if we were supposed to figure this out _before _the inferi rise?" he asked in a worried voice, and Lily's face drained of blood

"Sirius, we cant fight them alone,"

"We're not going to," he said determinedly, "Split up, gather everyone, we'll have to do this together, and we'll all meet, er, by this naked man statue," he said, pointing at the bust next to them. Lily smirked and nodded and ran off in the other direction, "IF SOMETHING HAPPENS SHOOT UP RED SPARKS!" he yelled after her, and Lily stuck her hand in the air, to show that she'd heard him.

Lily found Maddie and Valerie staring with wide eyes inside the pub she and Sirius had been in, "What?" she asked, huffing to a stop next to them. Valerie lifted a shaking arm and pointed through the window. Lily turned to look and felt her face drain of all blood. Pressed up against the window, staring at them, was a white, pale, dead face. It's yellow eyes were oddly focused, and it was looking right at them, "Go to the bust of the naked man, now," Lily said urgently. Valerie and Maddie, not needing to be told twice, sprinted in the direction Lily had just come from.

As they ran away, the inferi inside pushed off the wall, and started to make it's way towards the door. Lily sprinted away, silently thanking the universe that inferi were bloody slow, like muggle zombies, except they kept their arms pinned to their sides. She saw Gid, Fabian, Remus and James in the distance and waved her arm in desperation. She had the sinking feeling that she was being watched, and followed, which she knew was probably not in her head.

Noticing her running towards them, James put his arms out and steadied her as she skid to a stop, "Breathe Lils," he said. Lily took in a big raspy breath, and after seeing the look on her face, the boys pulled their wands out, looking around, alert, "What is it?" James asked in a more business like voice.

"Army…meet at…bust of naked man…dead people…inferi," she gasped out, but all the boys seemed to get what she was saying. James's eyes widened and he slapped his palm to his forehead

"Of course!" he breathed, "Where's Sirius?" he asked suddenly, looking around worriedly, hoping desperately that nothing had happened to his best mate.

"Split up…to look for people," Lily choked out, still trying to catch her breath, and James nodded.

"Let's go to the bust of the naked man then," Gid said, and a grin flashed across Lily's face, and they started to make their way to the bust.

"Have the inferi risen yet?" Remus asked, looking around, and Lily gulped, the image of the inferi from the bar imprinted in her mind

"Er, I know there's _one_ already," she gulped, and Remus frowned down at her, "I saw it," she choked out, and Remus winced

"I've heard they're terrible looking things," Fabian said queasily, and Lily nodded frantically

"It had its face pressed up against the window," she whispered, looking around at the windows fearfully.

Just then, in the distance, Lily saw red sparks fly in the air. All of them stopped and Lily felt her heart clench, "Sirius," she choked, and began sprinting towards the red sparks. The others, with worried expressions, started a split second after her. James and Fabian, who were the fittest, quickly overtook her and Remus and Gid were only a little ways ahead of her.

She couldn't help that she couldn't run as fast as them; she had always believed it was a girl thing. Hestia had a theory that running with boobs slowed down a person, as gravity had more to hold on to them by (they were completely aware of how disgusting that sounded). Lily huffed as she struggled to keep up with the boys, agreeing, for the first time, with Hestia's theory.

She was suddenly blocked by an inferi, which turned to face her, it's yellow bloodshot eyes piercing her like knives, and she let out a scream, causing Remus to double back and run back to her. They both reached for their wands and their collective curses sent it flying backwards. Lily threw Remus a grateful smile and he took her hand, and the two continued running.

They weaved through the people, who seemed to have all turned into inferi for some reason, including the innocent townsfolk, and when they finally reached the bust, it was to see Sirius, James, Gid, Fabian, Alice, Frank, Valerie and Maddie in a full on fight with a few inferi. As they watched, James sent a jinx at an inferi, who didn't seem to react at all, but continued slowly walking towards them.

It was like a death march.

Lily and Remus whipped out their wands and joined their peers, hoping to help with the war that seemed to be useless on their part. An inferi launched itself at Alice, and Lily waved her wand, and it flew back a few metres. Alice grinned at Lily before continuing waving her wand in fantastically intricate patterns. An inferi came up behind her and grabbed Lily by her long hair, pulling her towards it like a muggle fishing line. James blasted it away furiously and helped Lily, who had fallen over, get up.

"You alright?" he asked, as they both dueled inferi.

"I'm fine," she said back, twisting her wand and sending an inferi flying into the closest building

"Nice one Evans!"

"Oh shut up Sirius," she yelled back, and heard him bark a laugh. Sirius was the only one who looked like he was enjoying himself. Lily rolled her eyes at his childish ways and then turned back to the inferi army, which had grown.

"What do we do?" she heard Frank yell

"We can't fight them off!" Gid yelled, blasting one back

"We're just blasting them around! They can't die again!" Fabian added, and Lily saw Remus nod out of the corner of her eye

"They have a weakness!" Remus yelled, and Lily frowned. They _did. _She just had to _remember _it.

"They do! But…it's…_bloody hell _I can't remember it!" James yelled, frustrated. He took his frustration out on an inferi by levitating it and using it to knock over multiple other inferi, before blasting it up into the air, it landing with a sickening crunch on the pavement.

"Do you remember it Alice?" she heard Sirius yell.

"No!"

"Lily?" she heard Gid yell out desperately, and bit her lip.

"It's there," she said, frowning, and she saw James turn to look at her

"Come on Lils," he urged, and Lily nodded. They continued to duel as Lily chewed her lip, thinking over what it was. It wasn't light, which was for Devils Snare. Light, but why was she thinking of light? She knew there was a connection; it was there alright. She shone a bright light at an inferi to test it out, but all it did was roar slightly and turn away.

Light was the key. It bothered the inferi. But how to defeat one? Light, er, something relating to light! Brightness…warmth.

_Warmth. _Lily thought. Warmth was close. Warmth and brightness. Those were the keys, she knew it. Warmth, and brightness.

"FIRE!" she yelled. The others looked at her as if she were insane, who knows she probably was, and waved her wand quickly. A jet of fire flew out from her wand and she pointed it at the nearest inferi, who crumbled into ashes. Lily grinned, proud of herself, and heard the others cheers

"GOOD JOB LILY-FLOWER!" She laughed happily and watched as all the inferi began to back up slowly from her jet of fire.

"Shall we?" she heard James say, a jet of fire shooting from his own wand. Soon, all 9 of them were shooting flames out of their wands.

"On three!"

"Why?" Alice asked, turning to look at Gid exasperatedly

"Because it's fun," Sirius snorted, "Alright, one…two…three!" They all turned, aiming their wands at the army of inferi, who began to scatter at a fast snails pace. Lily could hear the Marauders snickering as they burned the inferi to the ground and rolled her eyes. What was it with boys, violence and murder? It was sickening.

The Aurors to be continued to burn the inferi, a fact Lily couldn't forget as she could hear Gid saying 'buuuuurrrn!' in a creepy voice under his breath, watching the crumbling inferi in fascination. Lily rolled her eyes and decided to leave the boys to the burning. She stopped her spell and walked away from them, the smell of burning flesh, even if it was dead flesh, started to make her feel woozy. She saw Alice standing by the naked man bust, her hand over her nose, and walked over to her.

"Smells so gross," Alice muttered, and Lily nodded. Her eyes were starting to water because of the stench. She could see Valerie and Maddie pretending to cough their guts out for an excuse the lean on the boys for support. Lily watched as James looked down at Valerie, who was holding on to his shoulder and supposedly hacking her guts out, but somehow managing to bat her eyelashes simultaneously. Lily smiled to herself as James shrugged Valerie's hand off his shoulder and, completely ignoring her, went back to his manic, guy-ish, burning craze, "It takes talent to bat your eyelashes whilst coughing," Alice sneered, watching as Maddie batted her large eyes at Sirius, and then, realizing he wasn't going to react, turned to wink at Frank. Lily turned and threw Alice a sympathetic smile, and Alice chuckled.

Lily sighed and sat down on the floor, and jumped up quickly with a squeak as something poked at her behind, "What the?" she said, looking down at the seemingly smooth floor. She brushed her foot over the spot she had sat down, and felt her foot hit something.

"What happened?" Remus asked, walking over. He looked down at Lily's foot, and frowned, getting down on his haunches to see what her foot was seemingly pressed up against. He brushed the sand off of it only to see nothing.

"That's odd, there's obviously something there," James muttered, looking over Remus's shoulder. Sirius leaned down and started feeling the air, tracing the spike Lily had sat on.

"It goes somewhere," Sirius mumbled. Gid walked over to see what Sirius was doing and then grinned.

"What? Why are you grinning?" Frank asked, as he stared at what Sirius was doing

"It's obvious isn't it? It's a trail!" Gid exclaimed gleefully, clapping his hands. Lily chuckled and Fabian walked over, looking at what Sirius was doing

"Trail?" he asked, looking at Gid, who nodded happily, "No fear," Fabian said. He pulled his wand out and waved it, so all the sand flew up, tracing everything invisible

"Smart," Alice muttered, as a long line extended above their heads

"Forward march!" Sirius announced, putting his arm around Lily's shoulders and holding his fist out in the direction they had to go. Lily giggled and looked around carefully

"Is that all?" she asked warily, and Sirius shrugged

"It was pretty intense actually…"

"Yes, I know that, but you'd think Moody would so worse," she mused. Sirius snorted and they continued in the direction, following their 'path'.

"Don't jinx it," Sirius said, grinning, twirling his wand between his fingers, and Lily laughed

"Tasteful joke"

"I know right?" he said, and Lily grinned. The group moved towards their unknown destination, walking for what Lily thought was hours, but according to Sirius's watch, was only seven minutes. Weird how time works sometimes.

"THERE IT IS!" they heard Gid yell, and they looked forwards to see a bright light, signifying their objective. Lily felt a smile spread across her face despite herself, and they all quickened their pace. They were close when suddenly, there was a loud collective pop, and they were surrounded.

"Oh bloody hell," James grumbled, and Lily sighed. She couldn't agree more.

"This is your final test," a vaguely familiar voice boomed, and Lily felt a grin spread across her face. Final test? And she'd be an Auror? Well, hopefully. The circle of cloaked people around them, and there were a lot of them, started to circle slowly. Lily watched them with rapt attention, as did everyone else, wands drawn.

The cloaked figures continued circling, but they had all drawn their wands now. Lily gulped slightly, afraid. She pinched James's arm subtly and he nudged her toe. Nice to know they were on the same metaphorical boat. There was a flash of blue light out of the corner of her eye and Lily saw Sirius neatly deflect a spell. So _that's _how it was going to be. Lily kept her eyes glued on the figures that were in her peripheral vision. Hopefully she'd be able to see where the attack came from. Hopefully.

There was an orange flash and Lily blocked the spell quickly, and it flew back, hitting one of the buildings. She heard a familiar chuckle and frowned at her attacker. She looked down her attackers hand and chuckled to herself. That was Daniel Potter's wedding ring. The figure next to Daniel, was wearing pink shoes. Yes, Emily was also there. Lily groaned as she realized something; they were surrounded by top Aurors.

"Bloody fantastic," she muttered, and James looked at her quizzically. One of the other Aurors took a shot and fired a spell at James, which he ducked, and it flew over and hit a tree, which cracked. Poor tree.

"What's fantastic?" she heard Sirius mutter from next to her.

"We're surrounded by top Aurors that's what," Remus grumbled, and Lily grinned. So she wasn't the only one who noticed. She saw James looked at the attackers hands and saw him roll his eyes at his parents.

"Honestly some warning would have been nice," he grumbled. Lily giggled and then held her wand at the ready. Were they supposed to attack? She took a deep breath and fired a spell to the right, and the unsuspecting Auror skillfully blocked it. Wow.

After Lily started, everyone was firing spells, dueling with the "attackers", "Is there any point to this?" Gid yelled over to them, and Lily shrugged. She put up a shield charm as Emily tried to curse her and looked around.

"I think we have to reach the light," Alice said, and they all nodded.

"How do we get out?" Fabian muttered, for only the peers to hear

"I say we curse them at once and run for it mate," Frank said, and Lily snorted

"They'd suspect that"

"Then what do we do?"

"Why aren't you girls helping?" James asked irritably, looking at Valerie and Maddie, who blushed as James addressed them

"Let it go," Sirius said wisely, and James snorted, "I know," Sirius nodded, "So Lily-flower what's the plan?"

"Why me?"

"Because you're the perfect one," Remus chuckled, and Lily rolled her eyes. She sent a well-aimed jinx at the Auror behind her, who fell frozen to the floor, "See?" Remus teased, and Lily laughed.

"Well do we all have to get there?" she asked, gesturing to the bright light in the distance

"Probably," James said, and Lily huffed

"I have an idea!" Sirius hissed

"Congratulations Black"

"Shut it Longbottom!"

"Oh will you please! What's your idea?" Alice hissed. Sirius mouthed a curse and Lily grinned mischeviously

"That's a brilliant idea," Fabian said, eyes twinkling

"Ready?" Gid asked, putting his wand down at his side. The Aurors all froze, and frowned at the teenagers, wondering what on earth they were doing.

"On three,"

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

"_Immobulus!"_ the teens yelled together, pointing at the Aurors, who all froze where they were standing. They cheered and laughed, before sprinting over to the bright light.

"Wonder what it is," James muttered, looking down at the orb of light.

"Who's going to touch it?" Sirius sung, his voice rising in pitch. They all laughed and Lily took a breath

"I'll do it," she said, her voice shaking slightly. She reached her shaking hand out and traced the orb with the lightest of touches. There was a blinding light, causing all of them to shield their eyes in fear of permanent damage to their retinas, and then it was dark.

"I CANT SEE!" Sirius announced

"Really?" James snorted, his voice dripping in sarcasm. Lily giggled and looked around at the blackness that surrounded them.

"Oh, bloody hell, _Lumos,_" Remus said, and a light appeared in front of them. Slowly, the nine of them lit their wands. Once the last wand, Maddie's, had been lit, the lights turned on, and Lily looked around the classroom once more.

"Sit," said a gruff voice, and Lily turned quickly to see Moody, a slight smile on his face, and his magical eye buzzing around, looking at all of them. They followed his instructions and sat down at their tables

"Hard to believe that the street was in here," Sirius whispered to Lily, who nodded frantically in agreement. It was so _small. _

"I love magic," she whispered, and both James and Sirius chuckled. Moody cleared his throat and they looked over at him guiltily.

"Now," he started, clumping around the room and walking around their desks, like a predator stalking it's prey, "I have one word to say," he said, looking around, and Lily heard Gid gulp noisily, "Impressive."

"YEAH!" Sirius yelled loudly, thrusting his fist in the air, and Lily, along with the rest of her friends, burst out laughing. Moody chuckled in his raspy way, and cleared his throat, signaling that he would be starting again.

"You performed spectacularly, and a large majority of you passed," he said. Lily watched as every face in the room paled, and she felt her intestines tie themselves up into giant knots, "I will be speaking with you in private, to tell you your results," he said. Lily whimpered slightly, and James took her hand, rubbing soothing circles on the back of it with his thumb. They would have been soothing, had he not been shaking so hard that it was causing Lily's own arm to shake. She squeezed his hand gently, and felt him relax slightly next to her, his leg jiggling.

Moody waved his wand and a large black box appeared, sort of like a muggle confession booth in churches, "Potter," Moody's voice said gruffly. James gulped and kissed Lily quickly on the cheek, before walking into the booth. As he entered, a visible shield erupted around it, keeping the sound in as well as keeping people out. Sirius walked over to it and poked it with his finger, only to be thrown back a few feet, landing in Lily's lap

"Potter," Moody said to James inside the box.

"Yes sir,"

"Don't speak," Moody said sternly, and James nodded to his lap, looking down at the floor. It was dark inside, and James knew that as soon as he stepped out of this box, his eyes would hurt from sudden exposure to light, "Now, Potter, you, along with most of your friends, disobeyed my rule," he paused, and James closed his eyes, trying to calm his racing heart, "you talked to each other, however," he said, and James's eyes flew open, "listening to instructions all the time can get you killed."

James grinned at Moody, who rolled his normal eye, his eerie magic eye staying focused on the door. James knew he was watching what the others were doing outside.

"And?" James asked frantically, after a few minutes of silence, and Moody chuckled

"Sorry, distracted by Mr. Black falling on top of Evans," he snorted, and James rolled his eyes. Honestly those people, "Mr. Potter, you passed"

James squealed a very not manly squeal and jumped up. He yelled a thank you to Moody before running out. He slammed into Sirius, who hugged him back with a gleeful yell, "NO WAY MATE!" James threw Sirius an irritable look and went around hugging his other friends, before stopping in front of Lily. Lily grinned up at him.

"I think he deserves a reward for this," Alice winked, and Lily stuck her tongue out at her friend, who laughed and walked away. Lily looked back up at James, whose eyes were twinkling

"That's not all that bad of an idea," he said. Lily laughed and got up on her tiptoes, but just then, Moody's voice yelled 'Evans' from within. Lily gulped and kissed James's cheek quickly before almost running into the black box room place.

Lily sat down quickly in front of Moody, who just looked at her then chuckled, "Evans I've known since you entered this room, that you have passed," he said. Lily's eyes widened and Moody snorted, "Honestly, you're surprised?" he asked, and Lily grinned, "Go on," he said, nodding towards the outside. Lily hugged Moody quickly before running out and throwing herself into James's arm, wrapping her legs around his torso.

**

* * *

Hello! So this update was quicker and I honestly had an amazing time writing this chapter. Imaginations can only do so much no? haha**

**Happy fanficcing! Read and Review!**


	12. Valentines Day

Hello! I don't think there are many more chapters left in this story, but if you guys want me to continue to like the wedding, and then Harry and stuff, just tell me yeah? Because I PROMISE you I do not mind :D i doubt those ones will be long stories though; probably just like 5 chapters long and oneshots, but if you want me to do them, just review it.

**ENJOY!**

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Disclaimer: how many times do you expect me to depress myself over the fact that I do **_**not **_**own Harry Potter?**

_**

* * *

Previously:**_

_They all passed out of Auror Academy_

* * *

"I can't believe it," Emily sobbed into her handkerchief, pulling James into a motherly hug.

"Mum," James groaned, as Emily pulled him into a loving hug, sobbing into his shirt.

"Oh Jamsie you're all grown up," she sniffled, and James ran his hand through his hair awkwardly, whilst patting his mother on the back. Lily was standing next to him and smirking up at him. Daniel was inside thanking Moody.

"Mum," James grumbled, hiding his face in her shoulder, embarrassed. Emily sniffed and pulled away, wiping frantically at her eyes

"Sorry sweetums, got a little mumsy there," she said in a squeaky voice, and James groaned, hiding his face, as Lily's shoulders shook with silent laughter. Emily kissed James's cheek and then ran into the Auror Academy room after her sobbing husband.

"Your parents will be worse," James said defensively, not looking at Lily, who snorted

"To you? Yes," she winked. James rolled his eyes and took her hand.

"Brace yourself"

"For what?" she asked incredulously, but didn't receive an answer as at that moment, James apparated them away. Lily looked around her parents' familiar little kitchen and giggled.

"What? Why are you laughing? You're supposed to be afraid!" James whined, seeing as his threat of using Lily's parents against her obviously didn't work. Lily shrugged and grinned at him.

"I'm not afraid, for myself that is," Lily pointed out, and James huffed, a smirk tugging on the corners of his mouth. Damn Lily for making him laugh.

"HELLO!" James yelled, and Lily jumped a few feet in the air. There was no reply, "HELLO?"

"James they're probably at work seeing as it _is _a week day," she said matter-of-factly and James flushed, feeling stupid.

"That sucks," he huffed, and plopped down onto one of the chairs around the table in the kitchen.

"They'll be here later," she said soothingly, leaning on her elbows from across the table so she was facing James

"Later is _later _though," he grumbled, and Lily snorted

"Yes James, very good, later is later," she said, and James grinned. Lily turned around and walked over to the fridge, "Honestly I'm dating a guy whose genius statement, after becoming an Auror, is whining about how my parents aren't home honestly," James grinned at the back of Lily's flaming red head.

"Lils?" he said and Lily turned around, quirking an eyebrow at him

"Yeah?"

"We're _Aurors_!" he yelled, and Lily's face broke into a grin

* * *

"HESTIA!" Hestia jumped as a voice echoed through the whole floor of the _Daily Prophet_ offices.

"Er, yeah?" she said uncertainly, and the lady in the cubicle next to her, who absolutely hated her guts, snorted in a very un-ladylike fashion.

"HESTIA! HESTIA HESTIA HESTIA!" as the voice got closer Hestia chuckled and put a marker in the file she was reading, closing it so that when destruction struck, her work would be safe. As predicted, a few seconds later, Sirius Black ran into the Skeeter Offices. His hair was everywhere, blocking his vision, so much so that Hestia was afraid he was going to crash into one of the cubicles. She also noticed how there was a large grin on his face making it impossible to believe that his face was still in one piece and that it hadn't split in half.

She was extremely aware of all the people in the office smirking at her and she flushed a fantastic shade of purple

"HEST! HEST!"

"What?" she asked, her normal voice sounding like a whisper in comparison to his childish screeches. Sirius looked towards the sound of her voice and saw her sitting in her cubicle, wearing a brown blouse and an orange pencil skirt, zipping up to her ribs. Sirius grinned and sprinted over to her cubicle. Hestia winced as Sirius banged into the walls of her cubicle because of his lack of controlling his speed.

"Bloody hell Sirius! Are you alright?" Hestia squealed, fluttering over to her boyfriend, who had crumpled to the floor out of the sheer force of which he'd slammed into the wall. People in the cubicles around her were crowded around, trying to look over the wall at Sirius.

"Alright everybody nothing to see here," Rita Skeeter said, sauntering over to Hestia's cubicle and sitting down on her desk, crossing her legs. Hestia made a mental note to scourgify the table when she left. Who knew where that woman had been?

"THERE IS THOUGH! HEST! MERLIN HEST!" Sirius screeched, jumping agilely onto his feet. Hestia screamed as Sirius wrapped his arms around her waist and swung her around in a circle. Rita Skeeter huffed irritably, probably because Sirius wasn't talking to _her, _and walked out of the room, her heels making clopping noises on the marble floor.

"Sirius! Put me down!" Hestia squealed. Sirius laughed loudly and set her on her feet, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"HESTIA OH MY MERLIN!" he yelled happily, jumping up and down. Hestia grinned at him.

"What is it Sirius?"

"I DID IT!" he yelled happily, and Hestia cocked her head to the side, frowning slightly

"Did what?"

"I PASSED!" he yelled, so loudly that Hestia heard the sound of someone falling off his or her chair. She couldn't care less.

"WHAT?" she screeched, eyes wide, a grin spread across her face

"I DID IT! I BLOODY DID IT!" he yelled happily. Hestia screamed happily and ran at him, throwing her arms around his neck and wrapping her legs around his torso. Sirius swaggered slightly under her weight, not that she was fat, but because of the force combined with her weight but recovered quickly and hugged her tightly

"CONGRATULATIONS! Oh Merlin I can't believe this!" Hestia squealed. She leaned back and ravished his face in kisses, which Sirius received happily. Hestia unwound her legs from his torso and he set her gently on the floor, on her ridiculously high heels. Hestia didn't seem to have any trouble balancing, and she was still grinning at her boyfriend, "I'm so _proud _of you," she breathed, running her hand through his hair. Sirius grinned down at her.

"All for you milady," he said, taking a tremendous bow, not breaking eye contact with her. Hestia laughed and wrapped her arms around his torso.

"I love you Sirius," she sighed, burying her face in his chest. Sirius was taken aback, but nonetheless extremely pleased.

"I love you too," he said, kissing the top of her head, "Let's get out of here!"

"I can't! I'm working," she said, gesturing to the file on the table behind her, "Oh that reminds me," she pulled her wand out and pointed it at the table, "_Scourgify." _Sirius barked a laugh and kissed the top of her head again.

"Don't want the Skerms on there, do you?" he teased, and Hestia frowned at him.

"Excuse-me?"

"Skerms! You know, Skeeter germs," he said, and Hestia laughed, loud and abrupt.

"Yes, we need to destroy the Skerms," she chuckled. Sirius grinned and sat down on Hestia's rolly chair, where she had been, "I need to sit there," she said, crossing her arms, and Sirius shrugged

"What time do you get off?" Hestia looked towards the clock on the wall across from her

"About twenty minutes," she said

"Alright, I'll wait," he smiled, and Hestia smiled at him

"I still need the chair," she said, and he winked at her.

"I'm not moving." Hestia sighed as Sirius grinned at her cheekily, and walked over, sitting down on him. She laughed as Sirius froze, shocked, and pulled the file towards her

"Can you roll forwards a bit?" she asked. Sirius chuckled and rolled the chair forwards, so Hestia was right next to the table, "Thank you," she said, turning around to kiss his cheek, "Now if you don't distract me for twenty minutes we can leave," she said. Sirius wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on his shoulder

"Is this distracting?"

"No," she said, and he smiled.

"I'm going to sleep," he said

"You do that," she chuckled, and he closed his eyes, burying his face in her hair, chuckling as he saw her skin flood with goose bumps.

"Can I do that?"

"You're distracting me," Hestia hissed, and waved her quill in Sirius's face, the end of the feather tickling his nose, "Be quiet and we can leave"

"Sir yes sir," he whispered into the crook of her neck, and Hestia bit her lip.

"Sirius"

"Sorry," he said childishly, removing his lips from her neck, and sitting back in the chair, looking up at the ceiling.

Hestia dove back into the file, her background reading for the next case she was going to be covering. She almost forgot she was sitting on Sirius.

"I'M BORED." Hestia jumped and squeaked, before turning around, narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend, who was looking around irritably. He noticed the expression on her face and made a big production of locking his lips, looking up at the ceiling again. Hestia giggled and got back to her work.

"You have to be quiet!"

"Alright, Alright I'm sorry! From now on, It's quiet Sirius mode"

_27 seconds later_

"I'M BORED."

* * *

Lily heard the sound of car doors slamming and jumped away from James, whom she had been close to snogging on the couch. She fixed her hair and face quickly as James re-buttoned his shirt, a large grin on his face

"Wipe that grin off your face," she hissed. James laughed and stood up, shirt fully buttoned, much to her disappointment, and kissed her cheek

"We'll finish later." Lily didn't get to respond however as at that moment the door opened and her parents walked in, her mother holding a bouquet of flowers and a heart shaped box.

"Lily!" her father yelled, and ran over to her, swinging her around happily, "You came!"

"Er, for what?" Lily asked uncertainly, and her mother chuckled

"Valentines Day of course," she sighed, shaking her head, and James's eyebrows rose

"That's _today_?"

"JAMES!" her mother squealed, noticing him for the first time and flying at him. Lily snorted daintily and her father chuckled, kissing the top of her head

"I can't believe you forgot about Valentines Day," her father said, and Lily stuck her tongue out at him

"I was never a very big supporter of it," she shrugged, and Jane, who had been squealing at James, pulled away from the attractive boy.

"That's an understatement," she giggled, and walked over to her daughter, "I do remember one year where you dressed up in all black and ripped a heart shaped balloon up with a fork," she teased, and Lily laughed

"You did not!" James said incredulously, a large grin spreading across his face

"Yes, she did," Andrew chuckled, "Nice to know some things haven't changed," he said, nudging Lily with his hip, and Lily shrugged

"Why would you want the person you love to have a big gesture on a day _scheduled _for big gestures when he can do it any other day of the year, which is more special?" she challenged, and Jane sighed

"Darling we've been over this"

"Lily's right," Andrew said suddenly. Lily smiled happily and Andrew winked at James over Lily's head, causing James to snicker.

"So what are you doing here if it's not for Valentines Day?" Jane asked, looking at her daughter, whose face split into a giant grin

"I have to tell you something," Lily grinned and her parents smiled, watching their baby girl smile so widely.

"Go ahead,"

"Brace yourselves," Lily said, holding her hands up for dramatic effect, "I PASSED!" Her parents' eyes widened. Jane screamed and pulled her daughter into a strangling hug, swinging from side to side. Andrew, on the other hand stood frozen, his eyes looking at the spot where Lily had been a second ago.

"Wh-what?"

"We're Aurors," James grinned, holding his arms out, and Andrew smiled slightly

"You have a _job_?" he asked incredulously, his voice a whisper. Lily broke away from her screaming mother and nodded at her father, as Jane ran over to James, pulling him in for a congratulatory hug.

"Yes," Lily said, quirking an eyebrow

"Already?"

"Daddy you already knew this," Lily said exasperatedly, and Andrew nodded

"I can't _process _it though," he said, his face breaking into a smile. A few seconds later, "LILYKINS!" he yelled happily, he ran over to her and pulled her into a hug, swinging her around in a circle. Lily laughed and hugged her father back happily

* * *

"Aaaaaaand done," Hestia said, shutting the file. She turned around when there was no response to see her boyfriend with his head leaned back, asleep. She grinned and carefully got off him. After packing away her stuff, she walked over to him and looked down at his peaceful sleeping form, "Sirius," she said quietly and gently. A small smile spread across Sirius's face, and he groaned, turning to the side. Hestia giggled and walked over to him, sitting down on his lap so she was straddling him into the chair, "Sirius,"

"Mmm," he groaned, stretching his arms above his head. Hestia laughed and kissed his lips quickly. She pulled back to see Sirius's eyes wide open, his stormy eyes smiling into her chocolate ones, "Can you wake me up more often?"

"No can do," she said, attempting to get off him, but Sirius held her down, "Sirius I'll get _fired _if anyone sees me like this," she whined. Sirius sighed dramatically and allowed her to get off of him, before getting up.

"Can we go now?" he whined. Hestia nodded and he grinned, taking her hand

"Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see," he winked, and disapparated, taking his curious and excited girlfriend with him.

* * *

"Your parents weren't as embarrassing as mine," James grumbled, as they landed in Lily's bedroom. Lily grinned and walked over to her mirror

"Disappointed?"

"Yes," he admitted, walking over to her, "Mine made me feel like a child"

"You are a child," she pointed out cheekily, and he narrowed her eyes at her from where he was leaning on her dressing table.

"I am not, I am an Auror," he winked. Lily grinned and pulled a bobby pin out of her hair, causing the front locks to tumble down, falling on her face. James chuckled and reached over, moving her ridiculous bangs out of her face, so they were looking into each others' eyes.

Before she knew it, not knowing who started it or how it even happened given how they were standing, Lily had her hands wound in his hair and James's hands were on her hips, pulling her so close to him he could feel her hipbones digging into his. There was a sense of urgency in this kiss, and Lily felt her knees shake simply a few seconds into it as James's hands moved under her shirt, gripping the soft, sensitive skin of her waist. She gasped as he squeezed her harder and James took advantage of that, deepening the kiss.

James's back was bent over as he leaned down to reach Lily's lips, still holding her tightly, but his back was bent awkwardly. Lily tried getting up on her tiptoes, but it had no effect on their ridiculous height difference. James pushed her into the wall, her legs wrapped around his torso, to settle the height difference. Lily clutched his shirt desperately, as if trying hard to hold on to her self-control. She put her hands at the base of head, pulling at the short hair there, and his hands slid up slightly, causing Lily to kiss him even harder.

James sat down on the edge of the bed and Lily sat down on his thighs and James groaned deep in his throat, and moved down to kiss her collarbone. Lily leaned her head back, and he moved up and down her neck, to allow him more access. She gripped the hem of his shirt as his innocent kisses turned into nips and licks, trying to hold on to her delicate self-control. His hips bucked against hers and she felt goose bumps travel around her body as he bucked them once more. Damn him and his sexual power over her.

Lily bit her lip and placed her hands against his thighs so she could gather the proper support she needed in order to do what she wanted to do; take of the stupid blue shirt that was covering up his exceptionally well-toned chest. James held her hands and Lily managed to break one free, running her fingernail down the line in between his pecs and down to his abs. James shuddered slightly but Lily ignored it, pulling his shirt up slightly. James finally leaned away from her and pulled the rest of his shirt off, before eagerly returning to her lips.

She suddenly felt extremely cold and looked down to see herself in only her bra. Maybe she would _never _figure out how he got her shirt off.

Lily, embarrassingly enough, felt a whimper escape her as James traced delicate patterns on her lower back, causing him to groan underneath her before he tightened his grip on her torso, bringing on a violent storm of goose bumps, and spun them around so that he was on top of her.

His face transformed to one of deep concentration and he bent his head down to place feather-light kisses along her jaw-line. Lily sighed in contentment as his lips met hers again and put her hands in his hair, holding his face to hers. James pulled away as Lily needed a breath, and moved down her neck, his fingers dancing up her thighs.

Lily clamped her eyes shut as she heard a creak in the apartment, "James," she hissed, getting a groan in response, as James continued to place kisses along her stomach, "James stop,"

"Why?" he whispered against the skin by her ribs

"Please?" she asked, flushing as she realized she sounded like she was begging. James sighed and rolled off her. Lily sat up quickly and he frowned at her, slowly getting up, his hand flying to his hair

"What?" he asked, and Lily shook her head

"I thought I heard something," James frowned and jumped off the bed

"Wait here"

"I'm an Auror too!" but before Lily had finished her sentence, James had shut the door behind him, pulling his shirt on as he went, his wand drawn. Lily grumbled some nasty words under her breath and pulled on a large shirt, before following him out, wand drawn. She walked into the living room to see James standing; his eyebrows rose high, "What?" she asked. She followed his line of vision and her eyes widened, "Oh!"

**

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Remus's Occlumency Journal/Diary**

Hello again old friend. I, Remus John Lupin, Werewolf, am an AUROR. Amazing no? I read a few pages back to see myself panicking about getting a job because of my condition. This is amazing.

I have fulfilled one of my life objectives.

a) Get a job (CHECK!)

b) Get a girl

Yeah, about b. I don't know. I like Tonks, but I haven't talked to her since I visited her for her Hogsmeade visit back in, what, October? It's Valentines day. I was going to do something about it, but, I don't know if she'll want me to. I don't understand

Anyway, I have to stop by mum and dads so I can tell them the AUROR news, and then I'll have to go stop by Wormtail because I doubt Sirius and James have even THOUGHT of going over there. They call themselves good friends, the nerve of them!

Signed by _AUROR Remus John Lupin._

No, that is never going to get old.

* * *

"Sirius!" Hestia squealed, as they landed in a large meadow. "Where are we?"

"Shh!" he whispered, and leaned out. He seemed to be looking for something, the way his fingers were moving around, searching. Hestia frowned and watched as Sirius, whose face was screwed up in concentration, suddenly grinned, his fingers latching on to something. He pulled and Hestia jumped as a whole new scene unfolded in front of her.

"Sirius what's this?" she asked incredulously, looking at all the candles and the dining table set for two

"Happy Valentines Day," Sirius whispered, wrapping his arms around her torso. Hestia's eyes widened and she grinned

"You remembered!"

"Of course I did!" he teased, leaning his forehead against hers, and Hestia breathed in the scent of her loving boyfriend.

"You never cease to amaze me Sirius Black," she muttered, as suddenly music started playing and a large present appeared on the table. She pulled something out of her pencil skirt and laid it on the table, watching as Sirius's eyes widened

"YOU GOT ME A PRESENT?"

"Er, yes," she said uncertainly. Sirius yelled happily and ran over to the table, but Hestia grasped his wrist, making sure he didn't leave, "Open it later"

"But I want to see!" he whined, looking longingly at the present

"I want to do something else right now," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing herself up against him, and Sirius's eyes twinkled happily

"Things I do for you," he teased, kissing her nose lightly, and Hestia laughed

"Because it's so much torture right?"

"Absolutely," he whispered, and leaned his forehead on hers.

* * *

"Er, hi," Lily said, looking at the visitor sitting in her apartment. Emily's head snapped up and she grinned widely

"Hello darling," she said happily, standing up and walking over to them, kissing James's cheek lightly. Lily flushed. What would Emily do if she realized that Lily had done a _lot _more than that to James only a few minutes ago? She was suddenly aware of the fact that she hadn't fixed her hair after their little snog session, and that James, the dolt, had buttoned the shirts on his shirt incorrectly, leaving a few free buttons.

She looked back up at James, who met her eyes and winked, grinning widely.

"Could you be more obvious?" she hissed, as Emily walked into the kitchen, wanting a drink of water

"I could try," he replied, and Lily laughed. James grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, kissing her temple gently.

"So," they jumped as Emily reentered the room, and flopped down onto the sofa, "Your graduation ceremony is tomorrow," she said.

"Oh I have to-"

"Don't worry I've already told your parents," Emily said, waving her hand, and Lily nodded. At least she wouldn't have to go back there after the extreme embarrassment. They had gone as far as showing Lily running around in the backyard, naked in the rain when she was two. Some loving parents she had, "So, I wanted to go over details. You are going to be wearing all black," she said, and Lily frowned, thinking of what she owned, "dresses work too," Emily added, and Lily nodded. At least she had that. She would desperately need Hest, "And it's going to take place at Auror Academy, so don't worry," she said. The two nodded and Emily grinned, "As I can see you two were, er, busy," she said, clearing her throat, eying Lily's hair, and Lily flushed a magnificent shade of purple which James hadn't seen before.

"Wait, mum," James said, as Emily stood up, "I need to talk to you," he said. Emily sat back down and James looked expectantly at Lily, "Leave please?"

"Rude," Lily said in an insulted tone, but stood up and grinned at him before walking back to her room. James waited until the door had shut

"What is it pumpkin?"

"Mum, I have a matter to discuss with you"

* * *

They reached the Auror Academy the next afternoon, dressed up, to see their classroom had transformed into a large room, greatly resembling a muggle high school gym. Lily grinned and walked behind the curtains, after spotting her marveling parents in the first row, sitting with James's parents. The rest of the Aurors were sitting at the back. Hestia was sitting in the front row, a notepad on her lap. After Skeeter had heard that Hestia was going to the Auror graduation, she had sent Hestia to record the names of the graduates.

Lily walked behind to see her fellow peers standing around, laughing and talking. She walked over to stand with Gid, Fabian, Alice, Frank, Sirius, Remus and James, and grinned at them.

"Lily!" Fabian sung, and Lily grinned at him, trying to ignore James's scanning of her body. Hestia had taken over once again, and Lily was left in skin-tight black jeans and a skin-tight black shirt. She reminded herself of Catwoman.

"Fabian," she sung back, and Gid snorted

"You have a _beautiful _singing voice, if I may say so," he said cheekily, and Lily laughed

"I will when hell has frozen over," she said matter-of-factly, and they all laughed

"But you do!" Sirius protested, and Lily turned to look at him

"Is the floor cold?" she asked, looking down at the floor. Sirius shook his head, and Lily smiled, "Then hell as _not _frozen over." They all burst into laughter and Lily saw James's eyes twinkle

"That's how you rejected me once," he chuckled, and Lily grinned, nodding. She opened her mouth to say something else when Moody's voice boomed all around them.

"WE HAVE WITH US A NEW GENERATION OF AURORS." She felt her stomach acid misbehave and mentally slapped her tummy for being so temperamental. Honestly, it was pathetic.

The graduation was not much. They walked onto the stage and stood side by side, taking a large bow when Moody finished his speech. It was incredibly dull, but the buzz of becoming an Auror had them all filled up. She saw her parents eyes fill with shock, and watched as her mother turned to Daniel and mouthed 'is that all?' when Moody announced that they were the only graduates, and smirked.

"LET'S WELCOME OUR NEW AURORS TO OUR MIDST"

The crowd burst into applause and they all took their final bows.

"We're Aurors," Lily said breathlessly, looking at James, who grinned down at her

"Yes, we are," he whispered, and leaned down, kissing her quickly.

"Now?" Sirius asked suddenly appearing next to James, whose face paled and he shook his head. Sirius sighed, and after kissing Lily on the cheek, ran over to the Potters

"Now what?" Lily asked, turning to James, whose face went a feminine shade of pink

"Nothing!" he squeaked, and Lily frowned

"James"

"No," he said sternly. Lily stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed, kissing her forehead, "Hey, we're Ministry official Aurors," he gasped, and Lily nodded grinning

"Took you a while"

**

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Hey guys! Sorry I took so long, and I'm really exhausted so I'm not going to go further with this chapter, but I really wanted to get it up on Valentines Day. So I hope you liked it**

**SOME FACTS ABOUT MY LIFE which might affect my updating. I made Varsity (: which is bloody awesome, BUT, I have practice 5 days a week, plus the IB diploma, so my updating will be excruciatingly inefficient, and I apologize for that, but I will try my hardest, I guarantee**

**Hope you're all doing amazing. Happy Valentines Day!**


	13. Legendary

**Hey everyone! So since there's been a surge of reviewers asking me to continue with the story, I think I might just (: So thank you so much for giving me inspiration. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

**PS- Mat Lee- there are billions of Matt Lee's on Facebook, be a bit more specific please? (:**

**And for anyone else, if you want to add me on Facebook just go ahead, but please add a "personal message" when you add me saying who you are (:**

**

* * *

Disclaimer: I doubt I would be posting this on if I was JK Rowling, considering I could just publish it…just saying.**

_**

* * *

Previously:**_

_They are officially Aurors_

* * *

"Lily! Lily what are you doing?" Hestia said, walking into Lily's bedroom, to see said person lying on the bed writing in a book, "Are you writing in your Occlumency Diary?" Hestia asked incredulously, sitting down next to Lily, who closed it with a snap

"I _was_," Lily grumbled, sitting up, and Hestia frowned at her

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know!" Lily whined, turning to look at her best friend, "I'm trying to figure it out!"

"Okay, calm down," Hestia said, grabbing Lily's shoulders as Lily jumped up, and began to pace around, pulling at the ends of her hair as if she was trying to trim it without the use of scissors, "Start from the beginning, what's wrong?"

"James! He's the problem!" Lily yelled angrily, and Hestia's brows rose.

"You seemed fine yesterday," she said. It had been three weeks since the graduation, and Lily and James had been fine. They hadn't had much work to do, as there wasn't much you were allowed to go on raids and battles until 3 months after graduating Auror Academy.

"To the untrained eye," Lily grumbled, and Hestia rolled her eyes

"Thanks Lils, really," Hestia said, and Lily's mouth twitched, "What is wrong?"

"He wont talk to me! He can only talk to me when there's others around! And when it's just the two of us, he either makes an excuse to leave, or wants to snog!"

"And snogging is bad because?"

"That's not the point!" Lily squealed, flushing an attractive shade of pink, "The point is, have I done something wrong?"

"No," Hestia said sternly, stopping Lily's rant before she could continue, "You have not. Maybe he's going through something?"

"For three weeks?" Lily screeched, her voice rising about 200 octaves, and Hestia winced at the pitch of it.

"It's been going on _that long _and you haven't told me?" Hestia asked irritably, and Lily gave her an apologetic smile

"I thought I was imagining it,"

"What made you think differently then?

_

* * *

The previous night:_

Sirius, James and Lily were sitting together on the couches at the Marauders apartment. James had his arm around Lily's shoulders and Sirius was sitting on the armchair, and they were just talking

"Ah I think I'm going to turn in," Sirius said, stretching hugely and yawning even huger. Sirius stood up and walked into his room after saying goodnight, leaving Lily and James on the sofa together.

Lily took a deep breath, knowing this was when she'd have to talk to James about it. However, as soon as she opened her mouth, James's lips were covering hers. She kissed him back tentatively for a few moments, before shaking back her common sense. She pulled away from James, who only moved down to her jaw.

"James," she said calmly. James jumped up, standing up extremely quickly, looking down at the floor.

"I think I will as well," he said, "hit the sack, I mean," he said.

"What?" she said irritably. Again?

"Er, bye," James said, and ran towards his room

_

* * *

Present tense:_

"See what I mean?" Lily sighed, sitting up to look at Hestia. They were both lying on their backs on Lily's bed, looking up at the ceiling, as they attempted to work through the situation.

"That is odd," Hestia frowned

"Has Sirius said anything?" Lily asked, her voice coated with hope and worry. Hestia shook her head and Lily sighed, falling back on the bed, her red hair fanned out all over the bed.

"I'll go ask him?" Hestia suggested, and Lily nodded frantically

"Please?"

"Shall do," Hestia said happily, and stood up, "See you in a bit," she said.

"I'll be here," Lily grumbled, waving her hand around to suggest she was going to stay in the flat. Hest nodded and blew a kiss to Lily, before turning on the spot, "I hate him," Lily said to nobody in particular, and sat up.

* * *

Remus arrived in the small town of Hogsmeade to see it bustling with Hogwartians, and his eyes widened. He hadn't realized it was a Hogsmeade weekend. He had come to visit Dumbledore, who had sent an owl to him requesting his visit.

Remus pulled the letter out and scanned it once more:

_Remus,_

_If possible, would you please visit my office on March 7__th__? I have a matter to discuss with you, and it would be well appreciated if you could visit._

_Best wishes,_

_Albus_

_P.S- I hate Bertie Bots _

Remus chuckled, as he usually did, at that last line, and then looked at his watch. It was March 7th. He was here on the right day. He shrugged, and began to make his way up to the castle along the familiar cobblestone pathway.

He didn't realize his eyes were searching the street for a particular third year until he spotted her, and jumped. Her hair was bright pink. She stopped dead when she saw him and a large smile split across her face. Leaving her friend Maria, who seemed to be halfway through a sentence, she sprinted towards Remus and threw her arms around his torso.

"HI!" she squealed, pulling away to grin up at him.

"Hi," Remus chuckled, his eyes on her hot pink hair, "Nice hair"

"Thanks," she laughed

"Why is it pink?" he asked, picking up a lock of hair

"Because that's my favorite colour," she shrugged, and Remus nodded, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she asked, cocking her head to the side, and Remus shrugged

"I didn't know it was a Hogsmeade weekend, Dumbledore sent for me," he said, and Tonks's eyes widened

"I keep forgetting how old you are," she said, shaking her head slightly, "What about?"

"I don't know," he said, and showed her the letter. Tonks scanned it and giggled

"Why does it matter that he hates Bertie Bots?" she asked, and Remus laughed.

"No reason," he shrugged, not sure if he was allowed tot ell her it was the password to his office, "Anyway,"

"You should go," she finished for him, pushing the parchment back into his hands, "Go," she said, pushing him, "Come down for the next Hogsmeade weekend, if you can that is, and if you want to," she stammered, and Remus grinned

"I'll owl you," he said, and turned to walk back up to the castle. Tonks grinned and ran back to Maria, who was looking after Remus with wide eyes

"What?" Tonks asked irritably, not liking the way her friend was looking after Remus

"I forgot how attractive he was," Maria shrugged, and Tonks laughed.

* * *

Hestia walked into Sirius's room to see her boyfriend lying with his head on his pillow, and his head dangling off the end of the bed, snoring like a chainsaw. She chuckled and walked over, bending down next to his head. He didn't notice. She leaned down further and gently kissed his chin.

Sirius snorted magnificently and stretched his arms over head, which was the wrong thing to do. It resulted in Sirius stretching far too much and falling off the bed, head first, landing with a spectacular thump.

"What! Merlin's buttock!" Sirius squeaked, as he sat up, rubbing a spot on his head. Hestia giggled and Sirius looked up angrily, his expression softening considerably as he saw it was her, "Oh, it's you," he grinned, and Hestia laughed. She got down on her knees beside him, having to be especially careful considering the skin-tight deep blue dress she was wearing.

"Are you alright?" she asked, and Sirius rolled his eyes

"Sirius Black never get's hurt," he said defiantly. Hestia snorted and poked the spot he had just stopped rubbing. As expected, he let out a loud yell and leaned away from her, "Woman! Are you trying to _kill _me?" he whined, covering his sensitive head. Hestia raised her eyebrows amusedly, and he flushed, "Fine, it hurts," he grumbled.

"I know," she giggled, and then put her legs out in front of her, "Come on," she said, patting her thigh, and Sirius sighed. He lay down, his head in her lap, and Hestia searched through his hair for the spot he had hurt.

"So what are you doing in my bedroom?" he asked, in a suggestive tone, and Hestia flushed slightly, but continued searching his hair.

"I had to talk to you,"

"Had?"

"Well, I still have to," she corrected, and Sirius grinned. Her fingers sifted through his hair and he closed his eyes

"This feels nice," he sighed, and she rolled her eyes

"Sirius I'm only moving my hands through your hair,"

"So?" he sighed, "So what did you have to talk to me about?" he asked.

"I found it!" she yelped, and Sirius's eyes flew open, looking up at her as if she'd gone insane, "The bump," she explained. She gently brushed her finger over the red, slightly raised part of his head, and Sirius groaned.

"I feel like a three year old," he whined, and Hestia grinned, "So what did you have to talk to me about?" he asked, looking directly at her, and saw her bite her lip nervously, "What?" he teased, tapping her chin. Hestia rolled her eyes, the corners of her mouth twitching, and pulled her hair out of its ridiculously high ponytail.

"I was talking to Lily," she started, and Sirius's eyes widened. He sat up extremely quickly and looked at her with wide eyes,

"What about?" he choked, and Hestia frowned

"What are you not telling me?" she asked dangerously, and Sirius gulped.

"Nothing," he squeaked, and jumped up quickly. Hestia got up as fast as she could, considering her attire, and crossed her arms

"Sirius," she said testily, and Sirius looked away from her, "Sirius," she repeated, and he looked up at the ceiling, "are you going to tell me?" he shook his head childishly, and she sighed.

"You'll find out extremely soon," he said, a smile spreading across his face, and Hestia's eyebrows rose

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see," Sirius grinned, and Hestia sighed.

"Until then I am ignoring you," she said sternly, and Sirius's face fell into a pout

"Now, babe, don't do that," he said, and Hestia grinned at him cheekily

"Will you tell me?"

"No,"

"Then ta-ta!" she sung, and turned on the spot. Sirius grumbled something incoherent and walked over to James's room, throwing the door open

"I hate you," he said angrily, and James looked up, alarmed.

"What did I do?" he asked bewildered, but Sirius had already slammed the door, leaving James alone in his room, "Insane," James muttered, returning to his notebook.

* * *

"Ah, Mr. Lupin, you came," Dumbledore said jauntily, spreading his arms wide, a large smile on his face. He looked like he was honestly happy that Remus had come. Remus smiled politely at Dumbledore, and extended his right hand, shaking hands with the legendary wizard. Remus sat down in the seat he usually occupied and his palms started to sweat. What was he supposed to say after that? _Er yeah I did! _

"You wanted to see me Professor?" Remus said politely, and Dumbledore sighed, taking his glasses off and wiping them on his sparkly, no really, _sparkly,_ robes.

"I have a grave matter to discuss with you Remus," Dumbledore said, and Remus's stomach clenched. _Grave? _That was usually bad. Remus mentally smacked himself for having such a stupid thought. Yes, grave usually means bad. Very good you twat, "As you are well aware, these are dark times," Dumbledore said, and Remus bit the inside of his cheek.

There was an extended silence, in which Dumbledore proceeded to pierce Remus with his obstinate blue eyes. Remus cleared his throat after a few minutes of fidgeting under the unwavering glance and Dumbledore blinked.

"I'm just going to come right out and say it," Dumbledore said, "You are well aware of your lycanthropy," he said, and Remus nodded awkwardly, "No need to be afraid!" Dumbledore said, holding his hands up, and Remus relaxed. His mind had automatically jumped to the Ministry not wanting him, or something of even more severity like the extermination of the dark creatures.

"As you're aware, werewolves are considered _dark _creatures," Dumbledore continued, looking Remus right in the eye with his blue ones. Remus marveled at how, well, cool, Dumbledore's eyes were. He had blue eyes as well, which were no doubt vibrant, but when compared to the great man in front of him, Remus's eyes looked like murky swamps next to Dumbledore's clear ones. They were the kind of swamps where you could see all the way to the bottom.

_Wait, swamps? I'm discussing eyes! Bloody hell Sirius is getting to me, I mean it was about time. Bloody dog. Not to mention the bloody nutter, James Potter, I am friends with. Bloody magnificent. I wonder what would happen if I found some _normal _friends to talk to. Maybe I'd go sane. Or just sink further into insanity from lack of insanity, which makes me feel sane. Maybe I _am _insane and those wankers are just _so_ insane it makes me seem normal. Is this why I don't have a girlfriend? The madness! _

Dumbledore clearing his throat, an amused smile on his face, broke Remus's inner rant.

"I can assure you Remus, that I do not consider you insane," he said, and Remus's jaw dropped, "Yes, you did say that out loud," Dumbledore chuckled, as Remus thought the very same question. Remus flushed deeply and Dumbledore lifted his handkerchief, wiping his eyes delicately.

"Sorry sir," Remus choked out in a small voice. He had just said 'wanker' in front of the greatest wizard of all time.

"I assure you the language doesn't bother me," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling

"IS THIS ALL OUT LOUD?" Remus squeaked, and Dumbledore threw his head back, laughing, "I mean, shit, no! Sorry, I mean, ah fuck, no!" Remus continued to squeak, his voice rising in pitch, as Dumbledore's smirk became more pronounced

"May I stop you there, Remus?" Dumbledore suggested, holding his hand out, and Remus gave him a thankful look, to which Dumbledore winked, "As I was saying," he said. Just like that, the atmosphere in the room changed, as if someone had turned a dial.

"Yes sir," Remus said, only it came out 'yussir'. Damn him for being so mentally incapable. He was going to _murder _James and Sirius. He looked up quickly to make sure that he was thinking inside his head, and at Dumbledore's lack of reaction, he relaxed slightly.

"Ah, where was I? Of course," Dumbledore said, straightening up, "People like yourself, are considered dark and dangerous," he said apologetically, and Remus just shrugged; he was used to it.

"And obviously they associate people like me with You-Know-Who," Remus said nodding

"Naturally," Dumbledore said solemnly, "Also, fear of the name only increased fear of the thing itself. Refer to him as Voldemort," Dumbledore instructed, and Remus nodded quickly.

"Sorry Professor. I mean, obviously people like me are associated with, er, Voldemort," he said, and Dumbledore nodded.

"Naturally," he repeated, his tone even more solemn than before. There were a few minutes of silence and Remus bit his cheek again, his leg shaking uncontrollably.

"I don't see where this is going," Remus said politely, and Dumbledore nodded

"Well, you see Remus, Lord Voldemort, or Tom as I like to refer to him," Dumbledore said, and Remus's eyebrows shot up. Voldemort's real name was Tom? It seemed odd that he had a different name. Then again, he reasoned, nobody would name his or her child that. It was an all-new level of absurdity, beating even Sirius Black and James Potter!

"Tom has gathered an army of them," Dumbledore said, looking Remus straight in the eye

"I wouldn't join sir!" Remus said quickly, and Dumbledore shook his head patiently

"I was not hinting that Remus," he said, and Remus flushed slightly, "I was simply stating. He, naturally, has offered them things that they can't turn down," he said calmly, "The ability to have a job, a family, not be shunned from society…"

As Dumbledore listed those, Remus felt his mind wonder. Those were extremely tempting. Especially in his situation. He could completely understand why they had joined Voldemort. Hell, he would've joined. _NO!_ he yelled internally, _Do__ not__ think like that. He's EVIL. _

"I understand that you, as well, are tempted, as they are…irresistible offers," Dumbledore said soothingly, and Remus nodded, ashamed, "There is no need to be ashamed, Remus," he said gently, his eyes softening, "It is, after all, things that you are denied, and things that you deserve." Remus felt something on his cheek and quickly brought his hand up, violently brushing the traitorous tear off his face. Dumbledore noticed and reached his arm out, as if wanting to comfort, but though better of it, bringing it down into his lap.

"I don't see how I'm involved in this sir, are you warning me?" Remus asked, his voice slightly thick.

"I require your assistance," Dumbledore said

"You want me to spy," Remus said bluntly, and Dumbledore nodded slightly

"Werewolves are extremely dangerous, and one in particular, Fenrir Greyback, he's known to bite even when it's not the full moon. He has a fetish for biting children, and raising them to hate society," Dumbledore spat, and Remus looked at him with wide eyes.

"Fenrir Greyback?" he whispered

_He was sitting on the doorstep of their old house, looking down the driveway to where he could see a man standing. He had odd hair. He ignored him and looked back down at his Power Rangers. _

"_Daddy said you're muggle toys," he said, looking down at the figures, "But I still think you're cool." He looked up at the man again, and saw that he was looking right at him. _

_He was a little scared, but ignored it. After all, the gate was locked, and mummy and daddy were right in the house behind him. He shrugged off the creepy man, and looked back down at his Power Rangers._

"_Die!" he squealed, as his red Ranger, his favorite, jumped on the pink one. He hated pink. No boys were supposed to wear pink. The red Ranger had to teach the pink one that he wasn't allowed to wear pink. Boys wore blue! That was their colour. It was in his colouring book. _

"_Remus, darling," a voice said, and he looked up to see mummy standing behind him._

"_Hi mummy," he sung happily, and his mother grinned down at him. _

"_How are the Rangers?" she asked, taking a seat beside him, and looked down at the position they were in, "What's the red ranger doing?" she gasped dramatically, for the amusement of her 4 year old, and he grinned at her, his front two teeth missing._

"_The Red Ranger is telling the pink one that he is not allowed to wear pink," he stated matter-of-factly, and she smiled. Remus had always had an amazing vocabulary for a child of his age. He had been the first one to speak out of all the children she knew, "Mummy look!" he squealed happily, and she broke out of her reverie to see the pink ranger changing colours_

"_Darling! You're doing magic!" she squealed, and picked him up, swinging him around. He grinned and wrapped his arms around his mummy's neck, "Let me go get daddy so you can show him," she said happily, kissing his forehead, both his cheeks, and the tip of his nose_

_Remus grinned happily at his mummy and flopped onto his cushioned bottom, grabbing at his Power Rangers with his grubby little hands, accidentally knocking the yellow one down. Who cared about the yellow one anyway? _

"_Good boy, now don't you move," she warned, and he shifted his bottom cheekily, grinning up at her. She let out a laugh like ringing bells and kneeled down next to him, "You promise you'll stay here?" she said. Remus stuck his pinky out, and she grinned, taking his finger in hers. It was only the size of the top half of her finger! "If you break this promise," she said dramatically, instantly catching the child's attention, "The Power Ranger's will die!" she whispered._

_He gasped, eyes wide, and nodded vigorously, "That's my boy," she smiled, and ruffled his sandy hair, before standing up. She looked back at him, seeing him playing with his little toys, and grinned, entering the house._

_He looked in front again as a Power Ranger flew over by the accidental flick of his hand, the green one, and he saw that the scary man was standing at the gate of his house._

"_Hello," the man said, and Remus frowned at him_

"_Mummy says not to talk to strangers," he said, and looked back down at his Rangers. Next thing he knew, the creepy man was right next to him._

"_I'm not a stranger," he said, and Remus looked at him curiously_

"_You're not?"_

"_You're Remus aren't you?" he said, and Remus's eyes widened, and he nodded_

"_Daddy's inside," he said, pointing his fat fist at the house, and getting back to his rangers. _

"_I've already talked to your daddy," the man said in a creepy voice, and Remus looked at him._

_Just then, the man's face started to change, and he let out a large howl. Remus jumped and held his rangers up as the man's expression turned more animalistic, and he began to growl. He heard a clatter from inside._

"_Remus darling, what is that?" his mother yelled._

"_A dog!" Remus yelled back, staring at the animal-man in front of him. He heard his mother mutter something about 'stupid stray dogs', but his attention was focused as the eyes opened._

_Yellow slits stared at him and it growled slightly. Remus opened his mouth to yell out but the thing had launched itself at him. A pain launched through him, a pain like no other, and he cried out, screaming as loud as he could, attempting to get the thing off him. He felt sharp, razor sharp, teeth pierce his skin and sink into his throat, and let out a yell. A cry of pain. A cry for help. _

"_Remus!" he opened his eyes to see his parents sitting over him, the animal gone. His mum was crying and his father was looking at him with an extremely pale expression_

"_Fenrir Greyback, my fault, all my fault," his father choked out, and stood up, walking away. His mother continued to sob and ran out of the room. _

"I understand if you don't want to, it is, after all, extremely dangerous. There is a high possibility you'll be found out," Dumbledore said gently. Remus snapped out of the flashback, and looked at Dumbledore. He was going to need to fight this. If he didn't, he'd never get back at the Dark Wizard for ruining everything.

"I know"

"Are you accepting this mission?" Dumbledore asked bewildered, "You have to discuss with your friends. This isn't a choice you can make lightly," he warned, but Remus ignored him. The vision of the creepy man from that night haunted him. How many other children had he gotten to? How many more to come? Did he have a chance at stopping this?

"I'll take it, when do I start?"

* * *

"Did you find out?" Lily asked, as Hestia landed in front of her in the kitchen, and Hestia sighed. That was answer enough for Lily, who groaned. She hit her head against the wall and Hestia grabbed her hair quickly, holding her back

"What in _Merlin's _name are you doing?" she yelled, and Lily shook her head

"I don't understand! My brain hurts!" Lily whined, leaning her head on Hestia's shoulder, and Hestia nodded.

"You know what you need?" she said, and Lily looked up at her quickly, "You need to get some ice cream," she declared, and walked around Lily to the fridge, pulling the freezer open and grabbing a carton of vanilla ice cream. She grabbed two spoons and led Lily to the TV room, "You know what else you need?" she asked, and Lily shook her head, "Professor Indiana Jones," she grinned, and Lily smiled hugely.

"I love you," Lily said happily, and Hestia laughed, as the two girls dug into the ice cream. An owl suddenly flew in, dropping a letter in Lily's lap, and flew off, not needing a reply.

_Black Lake. 8pm._

She frowned down at it and looked at Hestia, who looked just as bewildered, "Should I go?" Lily asked, and Hestia frowned.

"Do you recognize the handwriting?" Hestia asked, and Lily shook her head, "Wait here," she said, and disapparated. Lily huffed and leaned her head against the back of the sofa. What was going on? Why was the world going insane?

"Well, if he doesn't want to talk to me, then I won't talk to him," she declared to nobody in particular, hitting play.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL!" Hestia screamed, as she landed in Sirius's bedroom to see him stark naked.

"OH MY MERLIN!" Sirius yelled loudly, and ran into his bathroom, shutting the door, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he yelled through the door, and Hestia looked away from the door. She couldn't get the image of naked Sirius out of her mind, "I THOUGHT YOU WEREN'T TALKING TO ME!"

"I NEEDED TO TALK TO YOU! BUGGER IT ALL! I'LL TALK TO YOU LATER!" she yelled, and ran out of hest bedroom. She shut the door and attempted to soothe her terrible blush. She was down to a light pink, when a door opened.

* * *

Remus landed in the apartment he was heading for and ran into the room where he could hear noise issuing from. He walked and saw the person he had been looking for

"Lils," he said, and she turned quickly, to see the werewolf

"Oh, hi Remus," she said happily, and he smiled, before sitting down next to her, "How's it going?" she asked, pausing the movie and turning to give him her undivided attention. That's what he loved most about her; she seemed to _want _to hear about his problems.

"I just came from Dumbledore," he said, and Lily's brow puckered slightly

"Why? Did he invite you? What for? What did he say? What did he want?" she asked quickly, and Remus laughed

"One question at a time!" he said, putting his hands in front of his face in calming motions, and Lily rolled her eyes

"Answer them all!"

"Well, he wanted to talk to me about Voldemort's werewolf army," he said, and Lily's eyebrows rose

"Wow, that was abrupt," she said, and Remus's mouth twitched, "What did he want? To warn you?" Remus looked down at her and Lily's eyes narrowed, "Remus what did you do?"

* * *

When Hestia got home, it was to see a seething Lily in her bedroom, pulling on a dress.

"What's wrong?" Hestia asked. Lily started to brush her hair extremely violently, having successfully pulled the olive cocktail dress, which was skin tight, ending at her knees, "Alright, never mind," Hestia said, and looked down at what Lily was wearing, "Why are you dressed so nice?" she asked, and Lily pointed to a piece of parchment on the table.

Hestia walked over to it to see it was another letter.

_Dress nice._

"You're going?"

"Of course I am," Lily scoffed. Her hair was perfectly done, and she quickly reached out to grab her clutch purse, "See you later," Lily muttered.

"Wait!" Lily turned around irritably, only to be engulfed in a loving hug by Hestia, "Okay you can go now," Hestia smiled, and Lily frowned.

"Hest-"

"Go!" Hestia yelled, covering Lily's mouth with her hand and pushing her slightly. Lily frowned and nodded.

"Er, bye," she said uncertainly, before turning on the spot, imagining the familiar Hogsmeade streets.

* * *

She walked to the edge of the Black Lake to see a dark silhouette leaning against the Marauders infamous tree. She smiled at the memories that the place brought and looked around as she made her way to the figure.

It was standing, leaning against the tree, looking out across the grounds towards the forest; it's back to her.

"Er, hi," she said as she reached, and it turned around quickly

"Hi!" hi said happily, his eyes looking her up and down. Lily blanched at the sight of her boyfriend.

"J-James?" she choked out, and he rolled his eyes

"Who else would send you secret love letters?" he asked, and Lily smirked

"They weren't love letters"

"They were letters written with love," he pointed out, and Lily rolled her eyes

"The last one had two words"

"That's besides the point," he snorted, and Lily laughed, "Are you saying you didn't know it was me?"

"Obviously not!" she squeaked, and James sighed, grasping his chest dramatically

"And you got this dressed up?" he asked and Lily flushed, before shrugging

"It said 'dress nice'," she said

"You never dress this nice for me!"

"Well, I just did didn't i?" she teased, and James smirked. He took her hand in his and rubbed circles on the back of her hand, "I've missed you," she blurted out, staring into the hazel eyes, which flashed shock before happiness.

"I haven't been gone," he whispered, and Lily shook her head.

"Never mind"

"No! Tell me!" he said happily, taking her hand. Lily looked up at the castle and smiled. It looked exactly as she'd remembered it.

"You haven't been the same, for, what, a few weeks?" she said, frowning at him, and James shifted uncomfortably

"Yeah, er, sorry about that," he muttered, and Lily's eyes narrowed, her red-head temper pulling through.

"Do I not get an explanation?" she asked irritably, and James's mouth twitched

"Are you going to push me in the Black Lake?" he asked, looking at her through his eyelashes, and without warning, Lily burst into laughter

"We're not in first year anymore," she chuckled, shaking her head, and James grinned

"Best. Rejection. Ever," he declared, and Lily giggled.

"I felt so bad about it afterwards," she admitted, and James's eyebrows rose

"Really? Why?"

"No reason," she squeaked, and he looked down at her.

"Lils"

"Okay, fine, I thought you were, uhm, attractive, alright?" she said quickly, and James's face lit up in his familiar cocky grin. She hadn't seen it since their fifth year. She hadn't realized she'd missed it so much.

"Lily Evans, thought I, James Potter, was attractive," he said, grinning, and Lily rolled her eyes, her face flushed

"I wasn't the only one," she argued, and he shrugged

"The only one that mattered," he said, and Lily looked up at him with smiling eyes.

"Since I matter so much will you tell me what was wrong with you?" she asked quietly, taking a step towards him, and James's eyes twinkled

"I will, just not at this moment," he said, resting his forehead on hers, and she narrowed her eyes. James laughed and kissed her forehead before taking her hand, "Come on"

"Where are we going?" she asked, bewildered, as James dragged her to the Whomping Willow, "No! I don't want to!" she squealed, "It's _scary!" _

"What?" he asked, and then looked at the tree, "no! I'm not taking you there! Honestly Lily," he scoffed, and she flushed darkly

"I'm sorry, you were heading in that direction," she said, calming down and linking her elbow through his. James grinned and twined his fingers through hers.

"We're going to the Entrance Hall," he said, and Lily frowned

"Are we allowed?"

"Yes," he said

"How do you know?"

"Er, no reason," he said, his voice rising a billion octaves, and running his hand through his hair. Lily huffed and allowed James to pull her into the Entrance Hall. She looked around and smiled, "Can I talk to you?" he asked nervously, and Lily frowned, nodding.

"Go ahead,"

"Well, look, I need you to know something Lils. I love you. I've loved you for so many years now, and you should know that I'll probably never stop loving you," he said nervously, looking into her eyes, and Lily's softened

"James"

"No! shh," he said, putting his finger on her lips, and Lily smiled, "Look, so I want to do something," he said, and Lily nodded. He looked at her for a second before yanking her hand, pulling her onto his chest, and looking down into her eyes. Lily thought she saw a few tears in those eyes, but couldn't ask as James lowered his mouth, kissing her gently. HE pulled away and leaned his forehead on hers, looking into her green eyes, "I love you," he whispered, before taking a step back.

Lily watched as James pulled his wand out, and with a flick, lilies appeared everywhere. She looked around, bewildered, and then looked back at James.

He was on one knee.

He had a box

Oh Merlin, he had a box

It was a velvety box

He had opened the box

It was a ring.

"Lily Evans," he started quietly. Lily's slightly panicked gaze turned to his nervous one, "Lily, I love you. I promise to love you every day of forever, and all I want is to spend all those days of forever with you," he said, looking into her eyes, "When I first saw you, when I was eleven, on a train, I knew that I would want to do this someday," he admitted, "And I've pestered my parents about this ring since I was twelve. Lily, all I want is you. We're in terrible times right now, and I know that if I have you I'll be so much better with dealing with it," he said, "Now, I know I've used every cliché in the book," he said, and Lily giggled, "But, well, they work! And you know me, lousy with words"

He looked up at Lily and she felt all the panic drain out of her body. This was James. He loved her. And she loved him.

"Evans, will you marry me?" Lily looked at him and chewed her lip for a moment. He squirmed a bit and her face, finally, broke out into a grin

"Yes," she said, and James's eyes widened

"Really?" he asked and Lily laughed, nodding.

"I'm not going to make you ask 2,753 times," she teased, and James grinned. He slid the ring, the ring he had been asking for for 6 years, the Potter family ring, and looked up at her. Lily's eyes were sparkling with tears and she was looking down at the ring. She looked at James and he stood up slowly, suddenly towering over her.

"I'd really like to kiss you right now," he whispered, and Lily grinned

"Since when do you ask?" she teased, before getting up on her tip toes and kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

* * *

**Hey y'all! Hope you liked it! REVIEW. **


	14. Size of a Hippogriff

**Hello hello! Alright, so I hope you enjoy the chapter. Thanks for the reviews because they totally made me SMILE. Especially considering I've been sleeping at like 12 everyday because I'm working tech at a play. Oh well, only 2 shows left and I will have more time for homework (****cough fanfic cough****)**

**PS- Matt Lee- yeah it wouldn't narrow down, what's your profile picture? Or maybe you should just add me my name's not as common :P Niharika Sahni. **

**ENJOY**

**

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I am strangely jealous of my characters. I wish I were being proposed to by James Potter (sigh)**

_**

* * *

Previously:**_

"_Evans, will you marry me?" _

"_Yes,"_

* * *

James sat up quickly, rubbing his eyes furiously, trying to clear himself of the mental images. He had dreamed it. It couldn't have been real. He had not asked Lily Evans to marry him. Lily Evans had not said yes. He groaned and got out of bed, wishing it was true.

He stumbled over to the bathroom, planning out his day in his mind, and pushed the door open. There was a shriek and he jumped, before looking towards the source. The shower. Odd. Showers weren't supposed to shriek. Or at least, not ones that he was used to.

"James?" a voice said, and the water stopped, vapor floating in the air, fogging his glasses up.

"Er, yeah?" he said deliriously, and he heard a giggle

"Hi," he frowned and walked towards the curtain. Showers could know his name, which was acceptable. But greeting him? Now _that _was not natural. He brushed his hand along the curtain and it jerked back. What was happening?

"Are you alive?" he asked childishly, talking to the curtain, and he heard a delicate snort

"No James, I am not alive," the shower said, dripping in sarcasm. James gasped and ran out of the bathroom, "Er, James?"

"SIRIUS!" the door to Sirius's room flew open and Sirius, who had been grooming himself in the mirror, but pretended to have been looking into his closet, turned as his best friend practically flew into his room.

"Er, morning?" Sirius said awkwardly.

"COME!" James shrieked, grabbing Sirius's hand, and dragging him into his bedroom

"Er, mate, if Evans is depriving you of something I don't want to have to fulfill your sick needs," Sirius said, as James dragged him into the bedroom. James snorted and continued, "Are we going to the _bathroom?_" Sirius asked, bewilderedly, "I don't want to help you in there!" he squeaked.

James shoved him into he bathroom and the shriek sounded again.

"It's _talking!_" James hissed, pointing to the curtain, and Sirius rolled his eyes

"It being the shower or the person in there?" Sirius asked, amused, and James frowned

"Why is there someone in my shower?"

"That's rich," Lily snorted, pulling the curtain aside and peering around, her wet red hair falling thinly, dripping onto the floor, and her green eyes looking at James, grinning.

"LILY!" James yelled happily, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Did you honestly think the _curtain _was speaking?" she asked exasperatedly, and James flushed

"No he thought the shower was alive," Sirius said, and Lily's gaze shot to him, "Wotcher Evans," he winked, and walked out of the bathroom. Lily flushed and turned to look at James

"Hi," she repeated, and James grinned

"Hello!" he replied, and leaned forward, capturing her lips, before turning to the sink, "You can go back to showering, I have to brush my teeth"

"Is this how the rest of my life is going to be?" she teased, and James looked at her with wide eyes

"_What _did you say?" he choked out, and Lily frowned

"I said, 'is this how the rest of my life is going to be?', why?" she asked, and James frowned

"How did you know about my dream?" he hissed, and Lily frowned

"What dream?"

"Where I asked you to marry me! And you said yes!" he squeaked, and Lily's face split into a grin

"That was a dream?" she asked patiently, and James nodded vigorously

"Of course it was, it wasn't _real_," he pointed out, as if it was the most logical thing in the world. Lily grinned at her sleepy boyfriend and bit her lip, deciding to play with him a bit.

"So was there a ring?" she asked, and James nodded

"It was the Potter family ring," he said, sitting down on the countertop, and Lily's eyes twinkled

"Did it look like this?" she asked, holding her left hand out, wiggling her fingers. James looked down at the sparkly thing and nodded

"Yep, that's what it looked like," he said. Lily smiled and James grinned at her, hopping off the counter and walking to the sink. He picked up his toothbrush and was putting the toothpaste on it when suddenly, both things in his hands fell into the sink with a loud clattering sound.

Lily smirked as James turned to her, eyes wide, and laughed as his eyes flickered from her hand to her face, looking dumbstruck, "It wasn't a dream James," she smiled

"It wasn't?" he choked out, and Lily shook her head, "Are you saying I actually proposed?"

"Yes," she giggled,

"And you, you said _yes_?" he hissed, and Lily sighed dramatically

"Alas, it is the truth," she said, and James's face broke into a heartwarming grin

"MERLIN LILY WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!" he yelled, and launched himself at her. Lily screamed as James, who was dressed in his boxers and nothing else, jumped into the shower, hugging her, who had nothing but the curtain wrapped around her. James showered her face in kisses and Lily laughed, "You said _yes?_" he asked again, mystified, and Lily nodded

"Shocking isn't it?" she asked, and James nodded.

"Very shocking"

"Seriously shocking," she said, matching his tone, and shaking her head. James's eyes bugged out of his head and he jumped out of the shower.

"SIRIUS!" he gasped, and Lily rolled her eyes

"Yes, go, go tell your boyfriend," she said, waving her hand, and James grinned at her

"Goodbye Mrs. Potter!" he yelled childishly, and Lily flushed deep maroon

"It's not Mrs. Potter _yet!_" she squeaked. James laughed devilishly and ran out of his bedroom. He caught his breath and then, remembering why he had run out in the first place, he jumped up

"SIRIUS! PADFOOT! MERLIN!"

"Why are you yelling all of my names?" Sirius asked, pulling the door open, and James snorted

"You mean two of your names and Merlin?" he asked, and Sirius only gave him a blank look

"As I said, all of my names," he said, and James guffawed, "You hollered?" Sirius asked, and James's eyes bugged

"SIRIUS! OH MERLIN! PADFOOT!" he yelled happily, grabbing Sirius's wrist and jumping up and down

"Yes Prongs?" Sirius said, quirking an eyebrow

"YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!" he yelled, and Sirius sighed

"I hate this game. What happened?"

"I'M GETTING MARRIED!"

"You're WHAT?" Sirius asked, a grin spreading across his face, and James nodded vigorously, "SHE SAID YES?" he asked excitedly, and James nodded once again. Sirius pushed past James and ran into James's bedroom, where Lily had walked out of the bathroom wearing a large shirt, James's jersey, and tights.

"Hi," she smiled. Sirius ignored her and ran over to her, grabbing her left hand. He looked down at it and a large, beyond large, grin spread across his face

"I cant believe it!" he hissed, looking happily between his best friends, and they both flushed.

"Me neither," Lily admitted, and Sirius laughed.

"Congratulations!" he squeaked, hugging his best mate, who hugged him back enthusiastically. He turned to Lily and grinned at her, pulling her into his arms and swinging her around, "Mrs. Lily Potter," he breathed out, looking down at her, and Lily flushed even deeper while James glowed in pleasure

"Lily Potter," James breathed, looking at Lily, and Lily felt her stomach flip. Saying she liked the sound of that would be an understatement.

"I'll leave you two alone then," Sirius winked

"You don't have to-" Lily started, but then stopped as she met James's eyes and realized, yes, he had to leave.

"I have to meet Hestia anyway," he shrugged, and Lily froze, "You haven't told her have you?" he smirked, and Lily shook her head, "I would do that right now," he suggested, and Lily nodded frantically

"Change your clothes!" James protested, but Lily only shook her head and disapparated, leaving the two boys in the flat, "Now what?"

"We have to tell Moony and Wormy," Sirius said, and James brightened a lot.

"Come _on!_" he urged, grabbing Sirius's hand, and dragging him out of his bedroom.

* * *

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Hestia yelled as Lily ran into her bedroom, "I thought you had been murdered or something!" she yelled angrily. Lily bit her lip nervously and gave Hest an apologetic smile

"Sorry Hest, I was doing something," Lily explained, but Hestia only scoffed

"I don't care. I am your best friend and I think I deserve to know if you are alive!"

"Why would I be dead?"

"Why wouldn't you be?"

"I don't understand"

"Good!"

"What?"

"Exactly!"

"Er, Hest?" Lily said uncertainly, and Hestia grinned at her

"I love confusing you," Hestia laughed, and put her arm around Lily's shoulders, whilst Lily rolled her eyes, "So, how was last night?" Hestia said suggestively, nudging Lily with her hip.

Lily grinned at Hestia and waved at her with her left hand

"Er, hello?" Hestia said, looking at Lily as if she had lost her mind

Lily waved again and Hestia waved back uncertainly

Lily waved once more and Hestia huffed, walking away.

"NO HEST!" Lily laughed, chasing after Hestia, who'd walked into the TV room, "I'm trying to answer your question"

"What question?"

"About how last night was!"

"With a _wave_?" Hestia scoffed, turning around to look at Lily, who grinned and waved again, in slow motion. Hestia's eyes narrowed in on something sparkly on Lily's hand and her eyes bulged, "No. Way."

"Way," Lily laughed, and Hestia squealed

"You said yes!" she celebrated, jumping up and down, grabbing Lily's hand and looking at the ring, "Merlin that's the size of a hippogriff!" she squealed, and Lily laughed, "I knew I should've gone for James," Hestia mused, and Lily kicked her shin playfully, "Oh let it go, even if I had he wouldn't have looked at anyone else," Hestia snorted, and Lily flushed.

"I'm getting _married."_

"You're going to be a Potter," Hestia laughed, and Lily felt her heart speed up

"Lily Potter?"

"Mr. and Mrs. James Potter"

"Lily and James Potter"

* * *

"I'm innocent!" Peter yelled, as the door to his bedroom flew open, to reveal Sirius and James, and a floating, grumpy Remus

"What have you been doing?" Sirius asked, wagging his eyebrows, and Peter flushed slightly. If only they knew.

"Can I ask why you bloody woke us up and can you bloody put me down?" Remus grumbled, and James laughed

"Someone's not a morning person," James chuckled, and Sirius snorted

"Merlin Moony, you're such a bad-mouth. Go wash your mouth!"

"You're one to talk," Remus hissed, rubbing his bottom as he was unceremoniously dropped onto the floor, "And ouch that hurt," he hissed, standing up, still rubbing his bottom.

"Why are we being woken up?" Peter whined, falling back onto the bed and pulling the blanket over his head.

"I HAVE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING!" James announced loudly, causing the sleepy two to jump and glare at him with displeasure.

"Why the bloody hell are you so loud?" Remus grumbled, sitting down on the edge of Peter's bed. Peter was still hiding under the blanket.

"Well, fine, don't know about the proposal and what she said then, jeez," James said, placing his hands on his hips. Sirius smirked as the other two's eyes became so wide he could see the curves of where they disappeared into their skulls.

"THE WHAT?"

"WHAT DID SHE SAY?"

"YOU DID WHAT?"

"I proposed," James said calmly, looking at his nails, and Sirius had to bite his lip.

"And she said something obviously, don't forget that part," Sirius said matter-of-factly, looking at James, whose eyes twinkled

"Can't forget that now can I?" James said, and Sirius laughed, throwing his arm around James's shoulders

"What?" Peter asked, sitting up, looking at James with wide, admiring eyes, as he usually looked at him, "What did she say?"

"…are you serious?" Remus asked, his eyes wide, and a slow smile spreading across his face.

"Wait, what?" Peter asked, looking at Remus, who ignored him.

"Yeah," James grinned, and Remus's face broke into a grin

"No way!" he yelled happily

"WHAT?" Peter yelled, and they all looked at him as if he was stupid. Which he was.

"She said yes," James explained gently, and Peter punched his fist in the air in triumph

"I can't believe this!" Remus gasped, with wide eyes.

"OKAY ENOUGH OF THIS!" Sirius yelled, and they all looked at him, "We have to plan something"

"Right, the wedding," James said, nodding, and Sirius snorted

"No, that's what the _girls _do," he pointed out, "Merlin Prongs, that's like, the first rule of life!"

"Of _life_?" Remus asked skeptically, rolling his eyes at James, who grinned

"Whatever," Sirius said, waving Remus's comment off, "We have important planning…The Bachelor Party," he said, a devilish grin spreading across his face, and James rolled his eyes

"Aren't bachelor parties for those who are sad to see their single lives going?" Remus asked

"I don't care! I want to have one!" Sirius whined, and James chuckled

"Alright mate, if you want one we can have it," he said, and Sirius grinned at him.

"I love you!"

"I love you too," James said, and Sirius threw Remus a smug look, before pirouetting out of the room

"I HAVE TO GO SHOWER!"

"Okay," Peter said

"You do that," Remus snorted

"Enjoy yourself," James said, wagging his eyebrows.

"I'LL BE THINKING OF THE FUTURE MRS. POTTER!" Sirius yelled, and James flushed while the other two burst out laughing.

* * *

"You have to tell them!" Hestia yelled, laughing, and Lily shook her head stubbornly

"I cant do it by myself!" she squeaked, and Hestia laughed

"Why?"

"I need James!"

"So you're engaged and you're no longer independent?" Hestia challenged, and Lily threw her a scathing look

"Funny, really," she huffed, and Hestia blew her a kiss, "I'll get attacked though!"

"Let's _go_," Hestia said, and Lily sighed, standing up. Just then, there was a pop and Marauders suddenly invaded their apartment.

"CONGRATS!" Remus yelled, running at Lily and picking her up. Lily laughed and hugged Remus as he attempted to squeeze the breath out of her.

"Congrats Lily," Peter said sweetly over Remus's shoulder, and Lily smiled at him

"Thanks Pete"

"Alright enough," James huffed, and Remus rolled his eyes, putting Lily back down on the floor. Lily grinned at James, who smiled at her and walked over. He took her hands in his and rested his forehead on hers, and grinned down at her.

"Not now!" Hestia squealed, and pulled Lily away, "HI!" she squealed, and James laughed

"Hi!" he yelled, imitating her tone. Hestia squealed and hugged him, and James hugged him back

"Oh Merlin I cant believe you're getting married," Hestia sniffed, and looked between James and Lily, who were smiling at each other.

"Well you better believe it," Lily said sternly, "I cant have my Maid of Honour completely oblivious," she said, and Hestia froze, her eyes wide with shock

"Your _what_?" she squeaked.

"Don't tell me you didn't see that coming," Lily said, crossing her arms and cocking her head to the side playfully. The boys chuckled as Hestia squealed, loudly, and launched herself at Lily

"I CANT BELIEVE IT!" she squealed, and Lily rolled her eyes, grinning

"We decided this when we were planning Alice's wedding remember?" Lily said, and Hestia wiped her face, "Are you _crying_?" she gasped incredulously

"Yes!" Hestia said, and Lily laughed. Sirius walked over and Hestia hugged him around the torso, "Oh James," Hestia said, and James looked away from Lily, "Good thing you're here, Lily was just about to-"

"Eurgh," Lily groaned, hiding her face in her hands, and Hestia grinned, not finishing her sentence

"About to what?" Sirius said, wagging his eyebrows, and Lily shook her head fondly.

"You're coming with me," she instructed, pointing at James, who grinned.

"He would have even if you hadn't asked," Remus pointed out, and James threw him a look. Remus blew him a kiss and James snorted.

"Where are you going?" Peter asked curiously

"Yes, thank you Pete, where are you going?" James asked

"To tell my parents," she grumbled, and everyone, sans James, burst into laughter

"It's going to be a long day," he groaned, and Lily nodded, "Come on," he said, holding his hand out to her. Lily took it and Sirius wolf whistled, causing her to flush deep maroon

"Get out of my house dog," she said nastily, and Sirius guffawed. Lily grinned and waved, before the two of them disapparated. When she opened her eyes, she was at the playground down the street, "Er, James?" she said uncertainly.

"What?" he asked innocently

"We're down the street from my house"

"I wanted to go for a walk," he shrugged, and Lily smiled. He took her hand and started to walk

"Wrong way," she whispered, and he turned around, acting as if nothing had happened. Lily laughed and James grinned down at her

"You're in a good mood," he said, and she shrugged

"Yes, well," she said in response, and he smiled. He stopped her and stooped down to kiss her lightly, before continuing to walk

"Are you afraid?" he asked, and Lily shuddered

"Yes," she admitted, "Mum's going to go crazy, and dad's going to go pale," she said, and James chuckled

"How about I deal with your mum, and you deal with your dad?" he suggested, and Lily laughed

"I don't think we have a choice, she'll come to you first, honestly, you should've proposed to her," she said, and James snorted

"I don't think you'd want me as your father," he said, and Lily shuddered

"That would be scary," she said, and he grinned

"We might have had an incestual relationship," he wagged his eyebrows, and Lily's face scrunched up

"EW! Why would you _say_ that? Why would you even _think _that?" she squealed, whacking his arm, and James laughed.

"Merlin Lils it was a joke!" he laughed, dodging her slaps

"You're disgusting," she laughed, leaning on his shoulder, and he kissed the top of her head

"Is that why you love me?"

"I don't love you"

"Then why are you marrying me?" he challenged

"Because Sirius is taken." James snorted, and Lily giggled

"You're lucky I'm not the jealous type," he said, and now it was Lily's turn to snort

"And I'm the Queen," she said, and James flushed lightly, "You? Not the jealous type? So it wasn't you who jinxed Benjy Fenwick in third year when he asked me out?" she challenged, "And it wasn't you who hated Severus for talking to me? And it probably also wasn't you who was the reason all the boyfriends I had mysteriously got ill or hurt and broke up with me and were forever frightened of you?" she asked.

"Me? Obviously not," he chuckled, his hand in his hair, and Lily rolled her eyes, "Well I got you didn't i?" he challenged, and Lily grinned

"You realize if you'd never become Head Boy we would've never gotten together?" she asked, and James shrugged

"It would've happened"

"How are you so sure?" she asked, genuinely curious to hear the answer

"Well, it's me, I'm irresistible," he said, spreading his arms wide, and Lily snorted

"I can resist you"

"No you cant," he said happily

"I can!"

"We'll see, we're at your house," he said, and Lily looked over at the familiar building

"I don't want to go in," she said, and he laughed

"Coward." The word seemed to get to Lily, who threw him a scathing look, before squaring her shoulders and marching forwards. James chuckled and attempted to flatten his hair, some butterflies in his stomach.

They pushed open the front door and walked in. It was a Saturday, so her parents would be home, "Mum? Dad?" Lily called through the house. There was a loud clang and Lily rolled her eyes, "They're in the kitchen," she said, and James chuckled.

"If you _ever _scare me again," Andrew muttered, picking the clean plate off the floor and rewashing it. Lily laughed and Andrew grinned at her. He put the plate down, "She'll do it later," he mumbled, and walked over to Lily, pulling her into a bear hug, "Lilykins! How've you been?" he asked, and Lily smiled into his shoulders.

"Great," she grinned, and he smiled. He shook hands with James and then sighed

"I'll go get Jane, here goes my marriage," he said dramatically, and Lily and James laughed. Andrew grinned and walked out of the kitchen, leaving the two in there.

"I forgot to ask you," Lily said, and James frowned at her, "What about your parents?"

"Oh right, I should probably go tell them," he mused, and Lily laughed

"You have to," she said, "Or else it'll be another scene like when they found out we got back together, but worse," she said, and James winced

"I don't want to die _before _I can get married to you," he gasped, and Lily laughed.

"Exactly," she said, and he rolled his eyes. Just then there was a squeal and they looked over to see what looked like a bullet fly at James.

"Hi!" Jane squealed, hugging him, and James winked at Lily over her head, "Oh James! How are you? Where have you been?" she demanded, and James bit his lip

"Sorry Mrs. Evans, a lot's been happening," he said, and she smiled at him sweetly

"No worries dear," she said, patting his cheek and then turned to her daughter, "And you," she said sternly, and Lily rolled her eyes at her mother, "Where have you been?"

"I've been doing stuff," Lily said, and Jane snorted

"That's no excuse!"

"It was for James," she muttered, and Andrew, the only one who'd heard, laughed.

"What?" Jane asked, and he shook his head quickly. She turned around and he held his hand out to Lily, who hi-fived it.

"So I expect you had a reason for this visit?" Andrew said, and Lily flushed, and nodded

"We have to tell you something," she said in a small voice, and James chuckled at her fear, "Oh bugger off," she said to him, and he bit his lip to hold back a laugh. Both of her parents were looking at her now, "I, er, um, we, are, well, er," she said, and James laughed

"Do you need help Lils?" he teased, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"No I can do it," she said shortly, and he grinned, "I'll just go on and say it then," she said under her parents' expectant gazes, "wearegettingmarried."

Andrew's face went pale but Jane didn't seem to have understood, "What was that dear?"

"We are getting married," she repeated, and for emphasis, she held out her left hand, where Mt. Everest, as she and Hest had begun referring ot the ring as, was on her finger. Jane's squeal echoed through the house and, surprisingly, she launched herself at her daughter.

"REALLY? OH MY GOD I'M SO EXCITED! OH BABY! I'M SO HAPPY! MY BABY'S GETTING _MARRIED!" _she was in tears by the end of this and she pulled away from her daughter, and wiped her eyes, before turning to James, and hugging him tightly, squealing similar things.

Lily however, was worried about her father's heart rate.

Andrew was purple

He was also sweating

He also had wide eyes

"Daddy?" she asked, and he made a strangled sound

"Y-you're getting m-married?" he stammered out, and Lily nodded, "To him?" he said, nodding towards James, and Lily nodded, "Already? But you're my baby!" he choked, and Lily grinned.

"I'll always be your baby," she grinned, and he groaned, closing his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose

"James," he said, and James looked at him nervously, "If you hurt her I will kill you," he said, and James grinned

"I swear on my life," James said, and Andrew smiled

"Then congratulations," he said happily, and pulled his daughter into a hug. Lily grinned and hugged her father back as Jane burst into tears

* * *

"So are you ready for this?" Lily teased, as they landed in front of the Potter Mansion. James shook his head and Lily laughed, "I told my parents," she pointed out, "And I'm guessing yours probably know you were going to propose, considering you probably had to get the ring from them," she said, and he shrugged

"Still," he said, and Lily grinned

"Well, you're doing the talking," she said, and he pouted

"Do I get a prize?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows, and Lily rolled her eyes, not answering.

"So what are you going to say?" she asked, jumping up and down, as they reached the front door

"I'll have to improvise," he said, and she nodded. He pushed the door open and Anna appeared at the door

"Master James!" she screeched happily, and James grinned down at her

"Hey there Anna," he said happily, "How's it going?"

"Good Master James, very good, Oh! You brought your fiancée!" she squealed, and both James and Lily looked at each other with wide eyes, "Hello again Miss Lily!"

"Hey Anna," Lily said, smiling, "Say, how did you know I was his fiancée?"

"I saw the ring, are you not his fiancée?" she asked, her ears dropping slightly

"No! No I am, we just haven't told so we were trying to figure out how you knew," Lily explained, and Anna's ears perked up

"Anna is very observant miss," she said, "Mr. and Mistress Potter are in the dining room," she said

"Thanks banana," James said, and Anna grinned, before disapparating with a crack, "Shall we?" he said, holding his hand out to Lily, who sighed and took it. They walked into the dining room to see the two in question eating dinner. Once she spotted Lily, Emily dropped her utensils and shot off the table. Daniel, bewildered, as his back was to the entrance of the dining room, turned around quickly and grinned as he saw who it was

"Hello," he said cheerfully, walking over and hugging his son. Emily grinned and kissed James's cheek, before taking Lily's hand and pulling her to the dining table and seating her down next to her.

Silence seemed to descend on the four of them and all that could be heard was the clanking of Daniel's utensils on his plate. Emily was staring at James, while Lily was lost in her thoughts.

James looked up to see his mother mouthing at him. He frowned. She repeated what she was saying. _Wad me pee kay. _What the hell? His mom was going insane. He frowned again and she rolled her eyes. She wiggled her fingers at him and he raised his eyebrows, bewildered. Now he was officially confused

"What?" he said finally, after a few more wild gestures, and Emily huffed. Lily smirked slightly and Daniel choked at his sons bluntness.

"Even _I _could understand what she was saying," Daniel said through a mouthful of food

"That is an accomplishment," Emily agreed, and Daniel threw her a nasty look, which she ignored. They went back to silence.

James watched as his mother 'discreetly' peered at Lily's hands.

She let out a magnificent squeal

Daniel's face broke into a wide grin

James rolled his eyes

Lily flushed extremely hard.

"YOU SAID YES?" she screamed, and threw herself at Lily. Lily's chair gave way and it fell over, both the females falling to the floor with a crash. James and Daniel jumped up, worried, and hurried over to their respective partners.

"Are you okay?" James asked, brushing Lily's hair out of her face. Lily and Emily were laughing so hard they weren't breathing.

"I'm…fine…" Lily choked out, grasping her stomach, and continued to laugh. She leaned on James, who rolled his eyes and held her, his own chuckles escaping.

"Honestly Emily," Daniel huffed, helping her up.

"I'm happy!" she said defensively, and then smiled down at James and Lily, who were sitting on the floor laughing together, "I can't believe it," she said, grinning up at Daniel.

"I need a tissue," he choked, and ran out of the dining room.

**

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Hey! This is a bit tedious, I know, but they all had to find out didn't they? REVIEW**


	15. Preparations

**Hello everybody! Thanks for massively reviewing. I love reviews. Ask my friends, I check my email like every hour, and I always have reviews so thank you (:**

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* * *

Disclaimer: I'm in love with these characters, and you never own the ones you love.**

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* * *

Previously:**_

_They told their parents about the engagement_

* * *

"So what kind of flowers do you want?"

"Flowery ones"

"That doesn't help! Merlin Lily," Hestia groaned, frustrated

"But I'm bored," Lily whined, shaking her head. She was lying upside down on the armchair, her legs straight up the back of the chair and her head hanging off, red from all the blood that had flowed into it

"Really? I would have never guessed from your body language," Hestia muttered sarcastically, and Lily groaned. She ran her fingers through her hair, the ends of which were resting on the floor, piling up, and then brushed her fingers through the carpet

"Hestia we've been at this for, like, 5 hours," she whined, and Hestia grinned

"Lils, we've been at this for almost an hour," she corrected, and Lily threw her a scathing look

"It feels like we've been at this for years"

"Not a minute ago you said 5 hours," Hestia teased, and a grin flashed across Lily's face, "That is the first time you've smiled since we started this, I mean, it is _your _wedding," Hestia pointed out, and Lily groaned

"All I should have to do is show up!" she squealed, and Hestia snorted

"Lily, weddings are a lot of planning, so you can 'show up' to something," she said, doing little air quotes on the words 'show up'.

"Weddings are such a pain in the arse," she grumbled, and Hestia giggled

"Lily Clare Evans," her mother said, marching angrily out of the kitchen. Lily bit her lip and smiled cheekily at her mother, "If I hear you swearing again…" she started, but was cut off by Emily laughing

"If only that worked Jane," she sighed, "I've been yelling at James and Sirius for years," she laughed, and the girls grinned, "Now Lily, you shouldn't be so bored, Hestia is right, this is _your _wedding." Hestia looked as if she could have kissed Emily.

"Why is there so much to do though?" Lily asked, looking at her mother desperately. Jane smiled lovingly and walked towards Lily, who was still lying upside down. She sat down on the floor next to her daughter's head and combed Lily's hair with her fingers

"It is a lot of work, but, do you really want James to do it and ruin your wedding?" she asked, shooting the laughing Emily an apologetic look

"Yeah Lils," Hest said, leaning back, "Do you really want your wedding to be one giant prank?"

"Think of the children," Lily said, rolling her eyes, and they all burst out laughing

"Do you really want James to do it?" Emily asked, and Lily shook her head.

"Exactly," Jane said, and Lily turned to look at her incredulously

"I wasn't aware your favourite child had flaws," she said, and both Hestia and Emily burst out laughing while Jane raised her eyebrows, amused.

"I am being a supportive mother," she said, flushing slightly pink.

"Okay mum," Lily grinned, and kissed her mother on the cheek, "Let's plan this stupid wedding," she grumbled, and looked towards Hestia, who clicked her pen.

"Why is it stupid?" Emily asked, amused

"Because here we are, doing all this work, and the boys are probably doing something extremely pointless," she said. The older women grinned and Hestia rolled her eyes

"I know what they're doing," she said, and Lily looked towards her, eyes wide

"What are they doing?" she asked eagerly, and Hestia smirked

"Do you want to know what they're doing, or do you want to know what your fiancé is doing?" Hestia said, wagging her eyebrows, and Lily's face flushed, making it look even redder than before.

"James?" she said uncertainly, and Hestia grinned

"Yes, your fiancé," she said, and Lily shook her head vigorously

"James,"

"Fiancé"

"J-James?"

"Yes Lils, he is your _fiancé," _Hestia said, leaning forward for emphasis.

"Can we just call him James?" she squeaked, and Hestia burst out laughing

"You've been engaged for, what, two weeks, and you can't call him your fiancé?" Jane asked incredulously, and Lily flushed.

"Don't tease her," Emily said in a mock-stern tone, "I couldn't refer to Daniel as my fiancé either," she shrugged, and Lily smiled at her gratefully.

"That's different, I want to tease Lily," Hestia grinned, and Lily stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"You are the worst maid of honour ever," Lily hissed, and Hestia rolled her eyes

"They're planning their bachelor party," she said, and Lily's eyes narrowed to slits, "Now _this _is why I didn't tell you," Hestia grinned, as Lily finally sat up straight.

"Oh Merlin," Lily shrieked, as she fell off the chair, landing next to her amused mother, "Head rush," she grumbled, as the other females laughed. Lily shook her head quickly, feeling the blood spread to other parts of her body, and cleared her head, "They're planning a _bachelor party_?" she said shrilly, and Hestia nodded solemnly

"And I was starting to have fun planning this wedding," she sighed, as Lily stood up, arms crossed.

"You're very temperamental today," Jane said, looking at her daughter, who flushed slightly

"Period," she muttered, and Jane smiled. Lily on her period had always been, well, unpleasant.

"I think you should go yell at them, " Hestia said matter-of-factly,

"I think I will," Lily said irritably, and stood up.

"Wait! No! I want to see this!" Hestia squealed. The two girls froze and turned to look at the mothers.

"Er, can we go?" Lily asked awkwardly, and the mothers laughed

"Lily dear you're old enough to make your own decisions, you've grown up…and you've moved out…and…and you're leaving me and getting…you're…you're getting married!" her mother burst into tears and Lily looked at Hestia in alarm. She started to make her way over to her mother but was stopped by Emily's arm.

"I got it," Emily said sadly, and headed over to Jane, "You girls go," she said. Lily opened her mouth to protest but Emily gave her the look she usually saved for James, and the two girls held each other and disapparated. Once they were gone, Emily knelt beside Jane, who was trying her level best to stop the tears.

"I'm s-sorry," she said in a high voice, and Emily smiled at her warmly. She grabbed a tissue and handed it to Jane, who dried her eyes, "It's just. It's all happening to f-fast, and she's leaving me, and s-she's all grown up and-"

"I don't need an explanation," Emily said gently, sitting down next to Jane and putting a consoling arm around her, "I'm going through the same thing, my baby's getting married," she said, and Jane shook her head

"It's different," she choked out, and Emily looked at her, "There's two things. Firstly, this is not as significant, but, well, she's n-not going to be _mine _anymore," she sniffed, "She'll be yours." Jane choked on the last word and Emily's eyes prickled. She had been so thrilled to be having another female in the Potter family; she had forgotten that she was stealing the last Evans female.

"She'll always be yours," Emily said soothingly, "She'll just have a different last name, but she'll still be your daughter, and if she thinks of home, she'll always think of you," Emily said, and Jane smiled through her tears, "What was the other reason?"

"I'm afraid of losing her. Not only this way, it's just, we live in different worlds," she said, looking at Emily, who nodded, "If she's bound to your world, I just, I wonder if she'll still be a part of ours, that's all," she said, and Emily hugged Jane, whose bottom lip puckered.

"Jane, Lily is always going to be your baby, and she will always be a muggleborn," she said sternly, and Jane nodded, "Just because her last name is going to be different, doesn't mean she's not yours"

"I know! I know, I'm sorry, I'm being ridiculous-" Jane started, but Emily shook her head

"No you're not, you're being a mother," she grinned, and Jane smiled, "Now let's go plan some more!" she said excitedly, and Jane laughed, allowing the eccentric witch to pull her to her feet.

* * *

They landed in the Marauders flat to see four boys sitting in the living room, heads together, obviously planning something secret. Lily and Hestia tiptoed over, unnoticed, and eavesdropped on the conversation, leaning carefully over the back of the sofa.

"We wont make it back in time!"

"But it's _fun!"_

"It's my wedding. I'm not missing it"

"B-but Prongs!"

"We'll leave a day early how about?"

"Moony I could kiss you"

"Please don't"

"Thanks James"

"Don't mention it"

"So it's settled then?"

"Yes it's settled,"

"What's settled?"

"Honestly Pete it's like you don't pay attention!"

"Leave him alone"

"Whatever, it's settled that we're leaving early in the morning so we can get there"

"Where?"

"…"

"Let it go Pads"

"Fine. America,"

"I knew _that_. But why are we going all the way there?"

"Sirius is looking at you like that because you have insulted him"

"Oh shut up James. Strip clubs Pete"

"We have those in Britain as well"

"REALLY?"

"Honestly Padfoot you would've thought YOU of all people would have known this"

"Oh bugger off. Fine, no need to go to America. Where is this strip club?"

"Where you lose your girlfriend"

"Oh ha-ha James real funny"

"I didn't say anything…"

"It's where you'll lose opportunity at getting married"

"Funny, Moony, really,"

"I didn't say anything!"

"Pete?"

"No, not me,"

"It's a ghost!"

"Yeah, the ghosts of your girlfriend and fiancée," Remus chuckled, looking up from the huddle to see the two girls standing there, arms crossed. James and Sirius's faces adopted frightened expressions as they turned around slowly to see their girlfriends looking down at them angrily

"Hey babe," Sirius choked out, and Hestia narrowed her eyes, before looking away from him.

"Hi," James squeaked, looking at Lily, who was looking at Hestia.

"Told you," Lily said, and Hestia shrugged; Lily had said they were going to be doing something perverse, as was tradition.

"Curious, can we go back now?" Hestia asked, and Lily groaned, "I'll take that as a yes," she said, and grabbed Lily's wrist

"No! No! Please! Don't go!" James yelled, tumbling over the back of the sofa in his attempt to reach Lily.

"Wow Prongs, pathetic much?" said Sirius hypocritically, as he had jumped off the back of the sofa as well, but landed on his feet.

"Hypocrite," Remus coughed from behind them, and Sirius turned to shoot him daggers with his eyes, before turning back to Hestia, adopting a smooth, easy smile.

"Come on Lily," Hestia said, and Lily smiled sweetly at James, before they turned on the spot and vanished.

"BLOODY HELL!" James yelled, stomping his foot, "Where did they go?"

"Home probably," Peter shrugged, and James looked at him happily

"Peter you have just saved me," he said, and turned quickly on the spot, Sirius close behind him.

"So what do we do?" Peter asked, turning to Remus, who sighed

"I have to go see Dumbledore again," Remus said without thinking, and Peter frowned

"Dumbledore? Why? What do you mean 'again'?" Remus froze and looked dumbly at his friend, his palms sweating

"Er, stuff," he said intelligently, and Peter shrugged

"Okay, bye," he said, and walked into his room. Remus took a deep breath, thankful that he had been left with Peter instead of James or Sirius.

* * *

"What happened?" Emily chuckled, as the girls flopped angrily into their seats.

"They were planning the bachelor party," Hestia grumbled, as Lily played with her hair. Jane grinned and shifted on the sofa, allowing her daughter to sit next to her

"And I'm guessing you didn't approve?" Jane teased, and Lily shook her head, "Let's discuss something else then, shall we?" she suggested, and Lily nodded, "So we've been planning,"

"What! But it's my wedding!" Lily suddenly exploded, and her mother chuckled

"If I recall correctly, you didn't like wedding planning," she said, and Lily flushed as Emily laughed.

"I don't, but I'd like to be included," she mumbled. Jane laughed and kissed her daughter's head, before showing her the notebook. Lily looked down at the list on there.

_LILY'S WEDDING_

_Theme__: Classic_

_Kind:__ Muggle & Magical (YAY! – Emily)_

_**Lily**__-muggle (Everything chosen by Jane, sans the shoes)_

_Colour:__ White_

_Style__: to be determined (Lily is too lazy right now)_

_Veil:__ eyes & hair_

_Shoes:__ To be chosen by Hestia (Lily doesn't approve)_

_Hair:__ Unsure_

_**James**__-wizard (everything chosen by Emily)_

_Dress robes__: Navy blue_

_Shoes:__ black_

_Hair:__ We'll try._

_**Wedding ceremony**_

_Maid of Honour: __Hestia Jones (squeals by Hestia)_

_Best Man:__ To be determined- James hasn't told us_

_Bridesmaids:__ Alice Longbottom, Petunia Dursley (She doesn't want to mum- Lily (comment ignored by Jane))_

_Groomsmen__: To be determined- James hasn't told us_

_Flowers:__ lilies for everyone _

_Guest list:_

"That's all you have?" Lily asked her mother cheekily, and her mother narrowed her eyes at her daughter.

"The guest list is up to you and James," she said, and Lily nodded. As if planned, James appeared behind them with a pop, Sirius a few seconds behind him. He looked sheepishly at Lily, who stuck her tongue out and looked back down at the paper

"Hi," Emily said, smiling at James and Sirius, and they grinned at her. Jane was too busy watching her daughter to squeal at James's arrival.

"What are you doing?" she asked curiously, looking down at the paper. Lily was editing the spelling errors, "Honestly," her mother said exasperatedly, and Lily grinned at her, before getting back to it, "James!" she squealed, and he gave her his award winning smile, before looking nervously at the back of Lily's head.

"Jane, I think we should head home, it's late," Emily said, and Jane, getting the hint, nodded.

"I think so too," she said quickly. Lily looked up at her mother with wide eyes and Jane smiled at her. She kissed her softly on the forehead and stood up, "I'll come back whenever you need me, I'm just a call away," she said, and Lily nodded.

"Bye mum, by Mrs. Potter," she said, and Emily stumbled

"Why can't I be called mum?" she challenged, and Lily grinned

"I'm not a Potter," Lily said, and Emily snorted

"Yet"

"We'll see," Lily said, and Emily laughed as James's jaw fell open.

"Bye!" the mums called out, before walking out of the door. Emily was going to drop Jane to the car before disapparating. There was an awkward silence, filled only by the sound of Lily correcting her mother's grammar. It wasn't bad, she was just Lily.

"Er, hi," James said, feeling nauseous. Lily didn't acknowledge that she had heard his voice. He turned to Sirius desperately, and Sirius gulped

"Hest, can I talk to you?" he asked. Before Hestia could say anything from where she was looking over Lily's shoulder, Sirius picked her up, one arm under her knees and one supporting her shoulder blades, and stood up.

"Put me down!" she squealed. Sirius grinned and carried her through the flat to her room. Her squeals could be heard down the corridor, and subsided when her bedroom door closed with a click. James calmed his breathing and sat down next to Lily. She turned to look at him and smiled quickly, to show she wasn't angry, and got back to the book. She had started the guest list.

"Hey," James breathed out, relieved.

"Hi," Lily said, biting the back of the pen.

"Are you angry?" he blurted out, and Lily's eyes widened

"Whatever for?" she asked, bewildered, and James looked down at the floor

"Well, the, er, bachelor party," he said awkwardly, and Lily shrugged

"Do whatever you want James, just not after the wedding," she grinned. James beamed and kissed her cheek before wrapping his arm around her shoulders

"I wont go"

"Thank you," she smiled, and he laughed.

"What should I do instead?" he asked, and Lily frowned slightly, before her eyes sparkled with mischief

"Play a board game," she said, and James snorted

"Thanks, I sense the love you have for me,"

"Good, it's very powerful," she said. Before they knew it, they were both in hysteric giggles. Lily had lain down on James's lap, laughing into his knees, and James had his head leaning back, laughing up to the ceiling. Once they were done, Lily took a deep breath, wiped her tears of laughter, and sat up straight.

"What've you been doing?" he asked, brushing a lock of hair out of her face

"Wedding stuff," she grumbled, and James raised his eyebrows, "It's a lot more tiring then it looks okay?" she said defensively, and James laughed

"Well I've already had it planned out for years," he shrugged, and Lily's eyes widened

"And you didn't tell me?" she squeaked. James grinned.

"Well, I thought you'd want your own wedding," he shrugged, and Lily nodded

"Yes, but I would like your help"

"Lily Evans, asking for help?" he gasped, and Lily rolled her eyes

"Fine I'll do it myself," she muttered. James laughed and kissed her temple

"I was joking Lils"

"Sure you were," she chuckled. Lily continued to write, and a lock of hair escaped from behind her ear. James watched her for a few minutes before tucking the lock behind her ear, and kissing her right next to her ear. Lily smiled at him and looked back down at the book.

He grazed her ear with his teeth and Lily jumped so violently that the book fell onto the floor, as did the pen. James grinned as Lily gave him and irritated look, "What?" he asked innocently. Lily rolled her eyes, trying not to smile, and reached down for the book, "Oh no you don't," he said. He quickly grabbed her hips and moved her so she was beneath him, lying down on the couch. James lay down on top of her gently and smiled at her.

"You're terrible," she said, and he grinned even wider

"So are you," he pointed out, and she shrugged.

"I'm allowed to be," she said, and he rolled his eyes

"Because you're female?"

"No," she said, and James frowned

"Then why?"

"Because I have my period," she said matter-of-factly. Expecting James to pale and jump off her, and begin to stammer, she watched him expectantly. However, he didn't seem bothered, he grimaced and then shrugged kissing her jaw, "Doesn't that bother you?" she squeaked, and she felt his lips vibrate as he laughed against her skin

"No," he said, kissing her again, "Guess what?"

"What?" she choked out, as he kissed the space between her collar bones.

"We have a house," he whispered, and Lily's eyes widened

"We have a _what_?" she squeaked, and he grinned at her, his eyes twinkling

"A house, for after we get married," he said, and a large smile split across Lily's face

"Are you serious?"

"No that would be me," Sirius said, entering the room, "If you require my services I'm more than willing," he said slyly, observing the position his friends were in. Lily laughed and sat up, James sitting up as well, but not letting go of her hips.

"Honestly you two, that's what bedrooms are for," Hestia teased,

"Is that where you two went?" Lily retorted, and Hestia flushed a dull red

"Take that as a yes," James said, and Lily grinned at him

"Really?" she breathed, going back to their previous conversation. James grinned and nodded, causing her to squeal.

"What? What?" Hestia asked

"They have a house," Sirius said, and Hestia smiled

"When do we go there?" she asked excitedly

"After we do," Lily said, "Nobody is entering until we do," she said, "After the wedding." James kissed her quickly and leaned his forehead against hers

"Honestly, control yourself," Sirius teased, flopping down in the armchair Lily had vacated before going to spy on them.

"Ignore him," Lily said breathlessly, and James grinned at her. Hestia rolled her eyes and sat down on Sirius

"So, am I living by myself then?" she asked, and Lily looked at her with wide eyes

"Merlin Hest, I-"

"Don't worry about it," Hestia said, waving Lily off, "Am I?"

"No," Sirius said, and Hestia looked down at him.

"WE should go," James said, grabbing Lily's hand and dragging her to her feet

"Where?" she asked as James dragged her to her bedroom. He shut the door behind them and sat on the bed, patting the spot next to him. Lily smiled and sat down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"He's going to ask her if they want to live together," James explained, and Lily grinned widely

"That's amazing," she said, and he frowned, "Because it's Sirius," she explained, and he nodded seriously.

"I'm glad," he said honestly, lying on his back, "I was always worried this would never happen for him," he admitted

"Why?" Lily asked, lying down on her stomach, looking at James, who was looking at her ceiling.

"Well he always went through girls so fast, and never believed in love, well, can you blame him seeing how he had grown up?" he asked, and Lily shook her head, "Exactly, so he believed never to love anyone. And I'm just so happy he has," he said. Lily smiled and kissed James softly before smiling at him and bringing out the notebook. James flipped around and looked down at it, "So what have you got," he said, reading the list.

"Well we have to work on the guest list together-" Lily started, but James grabbed her pen and wrote some things down, Lily reading as he wrote.

_Best Man:__**Sirius Black**_

Lily grinned at James, who smiled shyly, "Come on Lily, wasn't that much obvious?"

"We couldn't just write it down based on assumptions!"

"Like _The Prophet_?" he teased, and Lily grinned

"Don't say that, Hestia's right down the hall"

"Whoops, sorry," he chuckled, and looked back down at the list.

_Groomsmen:__**Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew**_

"I could've done that," Lily muttered, and James grinned at her

"You couldn't even do the best man," he pointed out, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him. James laughed and kissed her nose before looking back at the list, "Can I change something?" he asked, and Lily nodded.

_Flowers:__**lilies for**__**maid of honour and bridesmaids, orchids for Lily**_

"There," he said happily. He looked at Lily to see her smiling at him

"I should've known," she giggled, and he grinned at her

"Merlin Lily," he huffed sarcastically

"I'm ever so sorry James," she assured him, deadpan. James laughed and stretched his arms in front of him, burying his face in her soft bed-covers.

"Guest list!" James announced, and Lily sighed

"I hate this part"

"Do you want a massive wedding?" he asked, and Lily bit her lip, unsure

"I don't know," she said honestly, and James nodded

"How about we invite the people we REALLY want there?" he said, and Lily nodded. James grinned and grabbed the pen.

"Why do you get to write?" she asked and James chortled

"Because my handwriting is the bees knees"

"The bees knees?" she asked, smirking

"The bees knees," he said, nodding and Lily giggled.

"Okay," she said, shaking her head fondly.

_Guest List:_

_**Evans Family- Andrew, Jane **_

_**Dursleys**_

"What?" Lily choked, but James rolled his eyes

"Let me finish!" he said and Lily giggled, before nodding.

_**Dursleys- Vernon and Petunia**_

Lily nodded in realization and James rolled his eyes, before continuing.

_**Potters- Daniel, Emily**_

_**House Elves- Anna and Alan**_

"They're not allowed to do _any _work," Lily said sternly. James bowed down to her and Lily smacked the back of his head, grinning.

_**The Lupins**_

_**The Jones's**_

_**The Order- Albus Dumbledore, Kingsley Shacklebolt, The Weasleys (Arthur, Molly and Bill), The Prewetts (Gid and Fabian), Minerva McGonagall, and Alastor Moody.**_

_**Hogwarts- Horace Slughorn, Filius Flitwick, Pomena Sprout**_

_**Tonks- Ted, Andromeda and Dora**_

"Should we state the obvious?" he asked, and Lily nodded, "Why?"

"Just so we have a total count," she said, and James sighed, turning back to the paper

_**Hestia Jones**_

_**Sirius Black**_

_**Remus Lupin**_

_**Peter Pettigrew**_

_**Frank and Alice Longbottom**_

"Invite Alice's mum!" she squeaked and James nodded

_**Alice's mum**_

"Honestly James," Lily laughed, "Call her her name!"

"I don't know her name!" he protested, and Lily giggled

"Mrs. Prewett," she said, and James flushed slightly

"I knew that"

"I know," she assured him.

_**Mrs. Prewett- Alice's mum**_

"Really?" Lily giggled, and James grinned at him

"Anyone else?" James asked, and Lily shrugged

"If there are we'll think of them later," she said, and James nodded, "Wait! I have one more," she said, and grabbed the pen from him

_Nana Evans_

James laughed loudly and pulled Lily into a hug, kissing the side of her head. Lily giggled and tucked her head into James's neck, causing him to jump. James growled as Lily laughed at the fact that he was ticklish.

"So, our new house," she said, and James pinched her lips shut, "What?" she mumbled.

"You will know _nothing _about it until we get there," he said, and Lily pouted

"Didn't you promise to give me whatever I want?" she said, and James gave her a look

"This doesn't count," he said, and Lily grinned at him cheekily, "What happened to my Lily?" he teased, and kissed the tip of her nose. He'd dealt with her and her time of the month so frequently that he knew exactly what to do; even everything out so she doesn't get stuck on one mood.

The door opened and Lily suddenly found herself flattened on the bed, lying on her stomach.

"HELLO!" said the Sirius lying on top of her back. Lily giggled and Sirius buried his face in her neck.

"Sirius!" she squeaked, and he sighed

"Fair Maiden, you shall be married soon, do you not want some of the Padfoot before you are forever bound to the Prongs?" he asked dramatically. Lily saw James roll his eyes, and continue to glare at Sirius, "Fine," Sirius sighed, and rolled off Lily, who took a huge breath. Hestia then lay on her.

"At least you're lighter," Lily said, and Hestia giggled.

"Can I take a picture?" Sirius asked seriously, watching Hestia on top of Lily

"No, you may not," Hestia said, and Sirius pouted. Hestia and Lily laughed and stopped as there was a pop outside the door.

"HELLO?"

"It's Wormtail," Sirius said, "IN HERE!" he yelled back. The door opened nad Peter walked in.

"Er, am I interrupting something?" he asked, looking from the girls on top of each other, and Sirius and James, who were watching the girls

"No, you're not," Lily smiled, and he grinned.

"Where's Moony?" Sirius asked, and Peter shrugged

"What do you mean you don't know?" James asked, "We left you two together!"

"Well I know where he is," Peter said

"Where's Moony?" Sirius repeated

"He went to see Dumbledore again," he said, feeling knowledgeable. James, Sirius and Hestia looked at him blankly, while Lily looked furious

"Dumbledore?" James asked

"Again?" Sirius asked

"Why?" Hestia asked

"How _dare _he!" Lily shrieked, standing up so quickly Hestia fell on her bum on the floor. James and Sirius looked at her incredulously

"You know about this?" James asked, looking hurt that nobody had told him. Sirius was wearing the same expression.

"I thought he told you, I honestly did," she said, holding her hands up, "Didn't he?"

"Er, about what?" Sirius asked

"The werewolf army?" she said. Everyone shook their heads and Lily's anger seemed to peak, "Bloody UGH!" she yelled, stomping her foot. James got up and grabbed both her shoulders.

"Explain," he said calmly. Lily stopped shaking with rage and looked up into his hazel eyes, and sighed

"He promised he wasn't going to do it," she said, and James nodded, "And he went back anyway! He lied!" she said. James nodded again and Lily sighed, "Well, he came to me the day you proposed," she said a small smile flickering on her face, "Before I started to get ready to go, and said he'd just been to Dumbledore. So I asked him why, and he said he'd been called. And then he got really quiet and awkward and told me about the werewolf army, and I said he wasn't going to join, but he was quiet, so I asked him what he did," she said, and took a breath, looking around at the faces of her friends, "He, er, he's going to spy," she said quickly. There was a unanimous intake of breath and Hestia's eyes widened

"On the werewolf army? Why?" she yelled

"Because he wants to get back at the one who bit him," Lily spat, and James put an arm around her shoulder soothingly, "He _promised _he wasn't going to do it! How _dare _he go back!" she said, and turned on the spot. James gave his bewildered friends a panicked look, and turned on the spot, following after her.

He landed on the crowded streets of Hogsmeade, and soon Sirius and Hestia were next to him. Peter had gone home and would alert them if Remus returned. He looked around and swore when he couldn't see Lily.

"Where _is _she?" he asked Sirius, who was looking around just as he was.

"Doesn't matter, we know where she's going," Hestia said, and head forwards. James nodded, feeling like an idiot, and followed after her. They saw Lily running ahead of them and James ran to catch up with her. He caught up to her and put his arms around her waist, swinging her around to a stop. She screeched and then looked up at him sheepishly.

"Why were you running?" he asked, and Lily flushed slightly

"Scared," she said, and he frowned. He put his finger under her chin and rainsed her head so she was looking him in the eye

"Of what?" he whispered, noticing how her eyes were glazed with tears

"You-Know-Who," she said, looking around nervously, "Too many memories," she said, and shuddered. James put his arm around her shoulder, and kissed her temple

"Nothing's going to happen to you, and don't call him that," he chastised. By this time, Sirius and Hestia had caught up to them

"Don't call who what?" Sirius asked

"Lily called _him _You-Know-Who," he said, and Sirius scrunched his nose

"Why?" he asked, looking at Lily, who shook her head

"I just feel like saying his name is a bad idea," she said, and they rolled their eyes at her, "Just _please _don't say it?" she said desperately, looking up into James's face. He searched her face, what for she didn't know, and finally sighed

"Fine," he said, and took her hand, "Let's go yell at Moony?" Lily's anger re-bubbled and the four of them marched to the castle. They walked inside and up to Dumbledore's office, taking in the familiar surroundings.

"Er, password anyone?" Sirius said, as they reached the statue.

"It's lemon drop," McGonagall said, coming up behind them.

"MINERVA!" Sirius exclaimed, and McGonagall's face twitched slightly, "Love, it seems that without my presence in your life, you have forgotten how to smile. Alas, after seven years of me, how could you not lose all abilities to be happy? But never fear my love, for I am always thee's," he finished, and Lily snorted

"Thee's?"

"I didn't know alright! You try making things up on the spot," he huffed, and McGonagall grinned, "SEE!" he exclaimed happily, pointing at her face, "It's _me_," he said smugly to James, who shook his head, chortling

"Admittedly life is rather dull without the presence of the Marauders," McGonagall said, before smiling, "I must go, I have a class to get to," she said, and walked down the hallway

"Ah, good old McGoogles," he sighed, and stepped ontot he statue, Hestia in tow. Lily rolled her eyes and followed after him, not bothering to comment on his nickname, "Come on Lily-flower, you know you want to," he taunted, and Lily giggled. There was a noise behind them and they turned to see McGonagall jump agilely onto the stairwell

"Ms. Evans, I almost forgot to ask, am I invited?" she said, smiling, and Lily flushed, as did James.

"Of course professor, we just finished our guest list this morning," she said, and McGonagall nodded, before turning around and jumping off the staircase.

"Ah, good old McGoogles," Sirius repeated. Lily ignored him again, much to his disappointment, and Hestia and James's amusement. They knew how Lily enjoyed correcting people. They hopped off the moving staircase and Lily pushed the door to Dumbledore's office open violently.

Dumbledore and Remus jumped a mile as four people marched into their office. Remus's face paled as he saw Lily's expression, "Merlin," he squeaked, hiding his face, and Lily crossed her arms

"You are in _so _much trouble," she said angrily, and Remus nodded solemnly

"Moony!" Sirius growled, and Remus looked down at the ground, as both Sirius and James gave him death glares. Dumbledore nodded and set his quill down.

"It looks like you're not going on these missions," he stated, rather obviously in Lily's opinion.

"What?" Remus yelped, looking up at Dumbledore, "But I _have _to go!"

"Why do you have to go?" Hestia asked, and Remus looked down at the floor

"I have to stop it," he said, looking his friends in the eye, "The man who bit me is still on the loose, and he's biting kids everywhere, I cant let other kids go through this!" he said, and Lily felt her heart melt

"Remus," she said gently, "Remus I don't want you to die," she said, "nobody does. You can't do everything,"

"But I can do something," he said defiantly. James pulled Lily out of the way and sat down in front of Remus, leaning on Dumbledore's desk.

"Mate, I don't want you to do this, to be incredibly blunt," he said, and Dumbledore watched him thoughtfully, as did Lily, "But if you absolutely _have _to do this, then go ahead," he said. Sirius growled but James looked at him briefly, and he quietened down, "None of us want to lose you, and if you do this, there's a huge chance we will," he said. Remus wiped his eye subtly and stood up, turning to Dumbledore

"Can I give you a few words of advice?" Dumbledore said, and Remus nodded, "I had a friend once, and even though I thought the world of him, he turned out to be a terrible person," he said. Remus frowned, as did everyone else. This related…how?

"I don't understand," James said, and Remus snorted.

"What I'm saying is, things aren't the way they seem. This seems like a mission to hurt them, it's not. You're going to have to stay with them, underground, in order to gain their trust. You're going to have to gain their trust," he said, "I, personally, wouldn't ever take this mission," Dumbledore said. Remus seemed to stand up straighter after Dumbledore's words

"You wouldn't?"

"Never," Dumbledore said solemnly, and Remus nodded, "Now go, I'm sure Mr. Potter requires you for wedding planning of some sort," he chuckled, and they all grinned, "When's the big day?"

"6 weeks sir, make sure you're there," James grinned and Dumbledore chuckled

"Mr. Potter I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said, eyes twinkling. James grinned happily and turned to Lily, who smiled at him.

"We're going to go," James said, taking Lily's hand with a meaningful look in his eyes.

"You cant apparate in Hogwarts," Sirius said slyly, and James huffed.

"You can use the Floo Network," Remus said, "That is, if Albus allows you," he added, smiling at Dumbledore, who chuckled. Hestia huffed and crossed her arms

"What about planning?" she asked shrilly, and Lily grinned at Hestia

"The notebook is on my bed, you can see what we did," Lily said, and Hestia smiled, satisfied

"You may go," she said, and Lily rolled her eyes

"Thank you, oh mighty queen," James said, and Hestia laughed. Dumbledore chuckled and held out a bag of Floor Powder. The couple took it thankfully and stepped into the fireplaces

"I always hated doing this," Lily grumbled, and James grinned.

"I'm here," he said, squeezing her hand reassuringly, and Lily found herself feeling better, "Are you ready for this?" he asked, and Lily nodded, "On three then?" he said, "One…two…"

"WAIT! Where are we going?" she asked, and James frowned.

"I have no idea," he said, and the room burst into laughter, "Let's go to the Mansion?" he suggested, and Lily nodded, "One…Two…Three"

"POTTER MANSION"

* * *

"What are you doing?" Hestia asked, looking at Sirius. The two of them had stayed in Dumbledore's office, the great wizard himself had gone to visit Hagrid. Sirius had walked over to a cabinet in the corner and was prodding it with his wand

"I need to get something out of here," he said, and carefully opened the little cabinet.

"Sirius!" she hissed, grabbing his hand, "You shouldn't!"

"Actually I should," he said. Hestia frowned, confused, and Sirius, his objective of distracting Hestia achieved, grabbed a large cauldron out of the cabinet

"What is it?" Hestia asked, admiring the bright blue glow hanging around the cauldron. She took an unconscious step towards it as Sirius laid it down on Dumbledore's desk. His eyes twinkled and he grinned at her

"I'll show you"

* * *

"Hey," James said, as Sirius got home. Sirius jumped and turned towards James, who was sitting on his bed

"What are you doing in my room?" Sirius asked, and James wagged his eyebrows. Sirius winked back suggestively and both the boys burst into laughter.

"I'm so glad our girlfriends aren't here to see this," James chuckled, wiping his face, as he and Sirius calmed down. Sirius snorted and walked over to the bed, sitting down next to James

"I bet they'd love it"

"I'm sure," James chuckled, and Sirius grinned

"They probably think about us all the time"

"And what we do when we're not with them"

"Think they ever imagine us-"

"Do _not _finish that sentence," James said, covering his ears and lying on his back, eyes closed. Sirius snorted and whacked James's stomach. It didn't hurt, because of the abs, but James still squeaked. The sound of slapping scared him

"I was _going _to ask if you think they ever imagine our conversations," he said, and James grinned at him sheepishly

"I bet they do"

"Ah, and when you're married there will be no secrets," Sirius teased, and James bit his lip.

"Sorry," he said, and Sirius looked at him incredulously

"For what?"

"I'm leaving you," he mumbled, and Sirius smiled at him

"Still best mates," he said, holding his hand out, and James grinned, shaking Sirius's hand, "Should we do the secret handshake?" Sirius asked mysteriously and James laughed

"It involves spit," he said, and Sirius rolled his eyes

"Why do you care about this now?" Sirius challenged, and James shrugged

"I'm not, just reminding you."

"Prove it," Sirius said, eyes narrowed. James narrowed his eyes, and stood up, as did Sirius. The door flew open and Remus walked in.

"What did I interrupt?" he asked awkwardly, seeing as there was one more person in here than should be, and also that the two were staring at each other intently

"We were just about to have sex Moony," Sirius hissed, and Remus chuckled

"Yeah, Merlin Moony, you just _had _to interrupt," James said, acting insulted

"I'm ever so sorry," Remus said convincingly

"You better be, he's getting married and we wont be able to do this anymore," Sirius said, sniffing, and James rolled his eyes, "Maybe I could join," Sirius said slyly, winking at James, who stiffened

"Not on your life," James said, and Sirius grinned devilishly

"Try me," Sirius said. James crossed his arms, about to retort, when Remus rolled his eyes

"Enough," he said irritably, and the two boys grinned at him cheekily, "Honestly you two, I cant believe you're _both _leaving," Remus muttered, and they smiled at him apologetically, "Wormtail's moving too," he added, "I get the whole flat to myself," he added with a mischievous grin

"I bet there are going to be chicks strutting around in their underwear the whole time," James said sarcastically, and Sirius snorted so loudly they heard a crash from the other room; Peter falling off his bed in shock. They heard him swear loudly and the creak of bedsprings as he got back into bed. They burst out laughing once the sound of his snores picked up again.

"Where's Worm going?" Sirius asked, and Remus shrugged

"He said he 'had to' go," he said, putting air quotes around the words 'had to'.

"Are you going to be okay? I don't 'have to' go," Sirius said, imitating Remus, hwo laughed

"Go, I want a flat to myself," he said, and the two boys grasped their chests

"You, you, you don't _want _us?" Sirius squeaked, and James sniffed

"After all these years," he said dramatically, and Remus rolled his eyes

"You two are such pests, honestly," he muttered, and turned around

"WAIT! Why did you come into my room?" Sirius asked. James, once again, wagged his eyebrows and Sirius, once again, winked suggestively, and the two boys burst out laughing, once again.

"NO!" Remus said, flushing extremely darkly, "You two are ridiculous!" he yelled, his voice rising in pitch on each word, "I came to talk to Sirius, _talk,_" he repeated for emphasis.

"Then talk," Sirius said, looking towards Remus, whose gaze flickered to James

"Er, later," he mumbled, and James frowned, "Actually, I had to ask if you were, er, successful?" he said. Sirius frowned dumbly before realization struck his features.

"YES! SUCCESS WAS ACHIEVED!" he announced loudly. Remus nodded, and James winced at the sudden volume, not having been given warning enough to protect his ears.

"Great, I'll go now," Remus said, and ran out of the room before anything else could happen.

"What was achieved?" James asked curiously

"Success," Sirius said, and James snorted

"What was successful?"

"Now that, my darling, is confidential," Sirius said, ruffling James's hair.

"Don't call me darling," James grumbled, not liking being left out. Sirius laughed and sat down on the bed

"What did you have to talk to me about?" Sirius asked, and James looked at him curiously, "I figure _that_ is why you were in my bedroom, because as you know I am not available for some heavy petting." James flushed deeply and coughed, as Sirius snickered

"Er, right, I just wanted to ask if you're coming tomorrow," he said, and Sirius frowned

"What's tomorrow?"

"I'm going to shop for wedding clothes," James said bitterly, scrunching his nose.

"The best man is supposed to go," Sirius said.

"So you're coming?" James asked, and Sirius frowned

"Did you not hear me? The _best man _is supposed to go,"

"I know," said James, grinning, "So can you come?" Sirius frowned for a few more seconds before his eyes widened.

"M-me?" he squeaked, and James nodded, "You're sure?" he asked again, "You want me? Me? Sirius black? Padfoot? To be your best man? At your wedding? To Lily Evans?" Sirius asked, getting to his feet and walking closer to James with each question.

"Sirius," James said, kneeling down on one knee, "Will you be my best man?"

"YES!" Sirius said dramatically, and tackled James to the floor, the two boys laughing.

* * *

"It's too tight!"

"It cant be that bad mate, just show us," Sirius said, sitting on the couch outside the fitting room next to Daniel and Andrew.

"But it's _tight!_" he yelled. Sirius looked at Daniel, who sniggered

"You're such a girl just _get out here _will you?" Sirius yelled through the door.

"NO!"

"Must I do everything?" Sirius muttered, and pulled his wand out, walking towards the fitting room. The two fathers laughed as Sirius blasted the door open and dragged James out. James looked around self consciously, "Mate we're the only ones in the store," Sirius said

"Fine, here," James said, removing his arms, revealing a maroon set of dress robes. Upon seeing them, all three men burst into laughter

"That is so tight!" Daniel laughed, and James narrowed his eyes

"I _told _you," he hissed, and turned around. Turning around really wasn't the best option

"Cute butt," Sirius teased, and James slapped his hands over his buttocks, and ran into the fitting room, followed by howls of laughter.

"I HATE YOU ALL!" he yelled through the door. There was a pop as Remus appeared next to Sirius

"Sorry I'm late," he sighed, dropping his bag down on the sofa, "What've I missed?"

"A full access pass at seeing James buttocks," Andrew said

"And much more," Daniel chuckled, and the four of them burst into laughter

"That is more than I _ever _wanted to see of you mate," Sirius said.

"Bugger off," they heard James mutter, and grinned at each other

"Where were you?" Andrew asked curiously, looking at Remus

"Er, arranging stuff," Remus said, giving Sirius a thumbs up. Sirius grinned and winked at the fathers, who frowned. Sirius pulled his wand out and wrote the words in the air.

_Wedding Present_

"Oh, I see," Daniel grinned, and looked towards the dressing room, where they could see James's messy hair over the door, "I still cant believe he's getting married," he said, tearing up. Andrew rolled his eyes and handed Daniel a tissue, Daniel blowing his nose noisily into it.

"You're upset," Andrew muttered, "I'm losing my baby girl," he said, looking at James's hair, "he better be good to her."

"Promise," Daniel said, and Andrew nodded, looking more relaxed, "Are you done yet?" he yelled to James.

"Shut up!" James yelled back, and Daniel chuckled, "Can I _not _wear this one?" he whined.

"Why?" Sirius asked

"Because it's so bloody complicated!" James squeaked.

"Come on," Sirius said, grabbing Remus's sleeve, and the two boys walked toward the fitting room.

"NO!" James yelled, as they knocked on the door. Remus snorted and opened the door before shutting it behind him and Sirius, "Get out!"

"James we've seen you in your tidey-whitey's before," Remus said

"I DON'T WEAR TIDY-WHITEY'S!" James bellowed, and the other four burst out laughing, "These are boxers!"

"They're boxer-briefs,"

"And they're white"

"THEY ARE NOT TIDEY-WHITEYS!"

"Okay James, they are not tidey-whiteys," Andrew said, relieving James of the embarrassment.

"Is this where the head goes?" Sirius asked

"That's what I thought"

"Stay out of this young grasshopper"

"WHAT?"

"Let it go," Remus chuckled, "I think that's the arm hole"

"That makes more sense"

"Who's the grasshopper now?" James said smugly, and Sirius snorted

"Put it on," he said, and walked out of the fitting room, followed by Remus.

"Okay, I am _not _ever coming out in this," James said

"Just come on out here James," Daniel sighed, and James groaned

"But dad!"

"Just do it!"

James walked out, looking around warily, and the boys burst out laughing

"I told you!" James yelled, embarrassed, and ran back into the fitting room, "Who picked these out anyway?" he yelled

"I did," Sirius said

"No wonder," James muttered, "Moony!"

"On it," Remus said, and walked away

"Where's he going?" Sirius asked. Remus walking by with two dress robes answered his question, "hey that's not fair!"

"Sorry mate," James grinned over the dressing room, thankfully taking the robes from a chuckling Remus, "I like this one!" James called after a few minutes.

"Then show us!" Sirius said excitedly, completely over his anger.

"You ready for this?"

"YES!" Daniel, Andrew, Sirius and Remus yelled together. James walked out of the fitting room and they grinned simultaneously

"What?" James asked, slightly self conscious

"It's perfect!" The men turned around quickly to see Emily and Hestia standing there, smiling at James.

"What are you doing here?" Daniel blurted out, looking at his wife, who laughed.

"Lily's dress cost a little more than we expected so we came to pay the extra," Hestia said, pulling out a little money-bag

"LILY?" James asked, looking around, and his mother shook her head, smiling. Andrew was looking at James curiously

"She's not here, she stayed with Jane," Emily said, and James visibly pouted. Andrew was still looking at him, a slight crease in between his eyebrows.

"That's the perfect one James," Hestia said, looking at the navy blue dress robes, "You should get it," she said. She kissed Sirius on the cheek quickly before heading towards the counter with the moneybag. Emily walked towards James and smiled at him, straightening out his collar.

"Don't forget to do that," she said in a thick voice. She smiled at him before walking towards the counter, hitting the back of Daniels' head lightly. Daniel chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"Yeah James, don't forget to do that," Sirius teased, and James rolled his eyes

"I'm going to go take this off," he said, turning around

"Want some help?" Sirius called after him slyly, and James laughed, shutting the dressing room door behind him. Andrew got up and followed after James, walking into the fitting room. James yelled as the door opened and calmed down considerably as he saw who it was

"Hi," he said, slightly uncomfortable as he was not wearing a shirt.

"You really love her don't you?" Andrew asked, looking James in the eye. James flushed slightly

"Er, yes," he said, looking down at the floor.

"You have my blessing," Andrew said quietly, and James's eyes widened, "You already had them, but that was out of formality, now I am really ready to let you take her," he smiled. James cried out in happiness and threw his arms around Andrew's torso, hiding his face in his shoulder, like he would hug a father.

* * *

"TWO WEEKS!" James announced, barging into Lily's room a few weeks later, to see her fast asleep underneath the covers. Only her bright red hair was visible, as it took up most of the bed.

"Gmff"

"I KNOW RIGHT!" he yelled happily.

"Gmffmff"

"Aren't you excited?" he squeaked, crashing down on the bed next to Lily.

"Mfernorf"

"You can do better than that!" he said excitedly. There was no response as Lily fell into a blissful sleep. She smiled into her bed sheets as the James in her dream kissed her at the alter. She was getting married in two weeks. Just then, there was a loud bang and he disappeared. Lily screamed and sat up.

"You're okay!" she squealed, and threw her arms around James's neck

"That's weird," James chuckled, "But I do appreciate your excitement, thank you," he said, and kissed her on top of her head. Lily grinned into his chest and wrapped her arms more securely around his neck, hugging herself to him

"I'm going ot sleep," she said, and James sighed

"But you just woke up!"

"No I didn't, you imagined it," she said, and he grinned.

"I love you too"

"Yes, I know you do," she yawned, and buried her face in the crook of his neck. James smiled and brushed his fingers through her hair lazily, "I'm going to be Mrs. Potter," she said sleepily, and James grinned

"Yes, yes you are"

"Can I be Lily Potter?" she asked, and James frowned

"As opposed to what?"

"Mrs. Potter, I don't want to be Mrs. I like my name," she said. James bit back a laugh at his sleepy girlfriend and kissed her temple

"Go to sleep"

"Okay," she sighed, snuggling into James.

* * *

The planning continued, including many fights between planners, particularly Lily and Hestia, and especially over the wardrobes. The boys had been planning the secret wedding gift, as well as helping James with all that needed to be accomplished. The parents were busy setting up the important details, and all the invitations had been sent out.

Now all that had to come were the bachelor parties

* * *

"Do we _have _to?" Lily whined, as Hestia sat her down

"Final make up days are good!"

"The wedding isn't for-"

"Three days"

"_Three days_?"

"Yes Lils, you are getting married in three days," Hestia giggled, and Lily whimpered

"Three days? Like three? Like one, two, three?" Lily asked, panicked, and Hestia nodded

"I'm afraid so"

"I-I'm not ready!" Lily squeaked, and Hestia smiled

"That's what the bachelorette party is for," Hestia squealed, and Lily's eyes widened

"What bachelorette party?" she asked, turning to look at Hestia, who grinned

"You think I wouldn't give you a bachelorette party?" she teased, and Lily squealed, jumping up and throwing her arms around her best friend.

"What are we doing? Where are we going?" she asked excitedly, and Hestia giggled

"You'll find out tonight," Hestia said, and Lily's eyes widened

"Why aren't we doing it tomorrow?"

"For your information, all the bachelor parties are tonight," Hestia said, and Lily nodded, "And because we all, you and James especially, need sleep before the big day! You can't have dark circles!" she gasped. In Hestia world, dark circles were the epitome of evil.

"You're right," Lily sighed, not in the mood to argue with her overly emphatic best friend, "So tonight?"

"Yes, tonight"

* * *

"YOU READY?" Sirius asked, running into James's room that evening, and James grinned

"Let's do this"

"PARTY!"

**

* * *

Hey guys! Hope you like it. It's a nice looooooong chapter, because I didn't want to extend the engagement phase. It gets really tedious, and too fluffy after a while. Plus, it had to be rushed because, hello, they're in a war.**

**REVIEW! (: **


	16. Partay

**Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter. ENJOY! I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE! IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN! I SWEAR I THOUGHT I UPDATED A FEW DAYS AGO! GAAAAH. **

**Kind of rated M for the boys bachelor party. **

**Little Miss Random- I'm sorry it took so long, but I have been REALLY sick, fever and stuff and I had 5 tests this week so I put this off. I'm sorry for worrying you but weirdly it means a lot to me that you worry (:**

**

* * *

Disclaimer: Only the storyline is mine. The part from the memory is JK Rowling's; quoted directly from Harry Potter 7, page 538. **

_**

* * *

Previously:**_

_Three days until the wedding_

* * *

"PARTY!"

"Sirius would you just shut up already?" Remus whined, as Sirius screamed for the third time, and they had only just stepped out of the apartment.

"PARTY!" Sirius yelled again, leaning towards Remus and yelling directly in his ear.

"I don't think you're going to win mate," James chuckled, clapping Remus on the shoulder, and Remus rolled his eyes

"I always win, he's just stubborn," Remus said, and James snorted. They walked out of their flat building, and James frowned.

"Why cant we just apparate?" he asked. Nobody answered, "Er, guys?" James said uncertainly, slightly fretfully. What if they were Death Eaters in disguise? Bloody hell! Why hadn't he checked them? How stupid could he have been? He frowned, trying to think of a time when they could have been gone long enough for Death Eaters to kidnap and impersonate them.

Sirius stumbled and swore loudly as his toe caught on a rock, causing him to fall unceremoniously onto the floor, and James rolled his eyes, all Death Eaters suspicion vanishing. There was _no _way anybody could have done that, except the one and only Sirius Black.

"Honestly Sirius watch your feet," Remus said, and Sirius stuck his tongue out at him

"I'm sorry that everything wants my body on top of it," Sirius said, and Peter started to cough, "OI!"

"I don't get it," Remus said, looking at Sirius, who sighed dramatically

"Do I have to do everything?" he asked, and James chuckled

"Padfoot, oh high and mighty, please _do _explain," he said sarcastically. Remus smirked and Peter squeaked a laugh. Sirius, however, didn't seem to register, or was just ignoring the fact that James had been sarcastic.

"I WILL," he said, throwing Remus a nasty look, "You see, gravity pulled me to the floor, sending the rock up here as it's accomplice, to trip me, and then I would be lying down, and gravity would be happy," Sirius concluded.

"Wouldn't that be the floor who wanted you though?" James asked, and Sirius frowned

"Er, the floor is gravity's clothing," he said. The four boys looked at each other for a second, before promptly bursting out into laughter.

"Gravity's…clothing…" James choked out, doubled over with laughter.

"Ready?" he looked up quickly to see his friends looking at each other

"Wha-" but before he could even begin to say anything, three boys launched themselves at him, "ARRGGGHHH!" he yelled, as they tackled him to the ground. James was lying on his stomach, Remus sitting on top of him, holding both of James's hands, Peter lying on his stomach on James's legs, and Sirius, he was sitting on James's head, "Gerroff!" James squeaked, shaking his head. Sirius rocked back and forth slightly as James moved his head

"Again! Again!" Sirius laughed, clapping like a little child, and James snorted, regretting it as mud flew up his nose.

"Yuck!" he squeaked, blowing the mud out of his respiratory system, "Get off!" he yelled again.

"No can do, Prongsie darling," Sirius said, patting the top of James's head, which was right next to his right butt-cheek, "We have plans for you"

"I swear to Merlin Sirius if you fart…" James yelled, and Sirius snickered evilly.

"Actually, I feel something coming on," Sirius said, trailing off. James started screaming and Sirius grinned widely.

"Oh stop it," Remus said, smirking, "See, James, the thing is, you're getting married," Remus said. James could feel Peter's pudgy body jiggle against his calves as he nodded vigorously. He started to kick his legs, but Peter didn't budge.

"I know I'm getting married, you know, I did propose," James said snottily, and Sirius barked a laugh.

"Good boy Jamesiekins," he said, pinching James's cheek. James shook his head again, scratching his nose on the floor.

"Guys! At least get my face off the floor!" he squeaked, as an ant crawled by his eyes, so close James could see it's little eyes. It was looking at him. Merlin! It was going to call its army and kill him! "GUYS!" he screeched, as the ant vanished from view, off to do Merlin knew what. James was sure it was diabolically planning his demise.

"I don't think he likes this," Sirius said, turning to Remus.

"No _shit_," James hissed.

"Now James, that's no way to talk to your elders," Sirius chastised, and James blew raspberries, "Can we just sit on him all night?" Sirius asked

"No! I'm sorry!" James squeaked, and the three boys on top of him chuckled.

"How about we get him standing up?" Remus suggested

"Yes! Do that!" James squeaked. Remus rolled his eyes and carefully got off James, whose hands flew up quickly, trying to get Sirius off of his head.

"Prongs! Don't _touch _me there!" Sirius squawked, as James poked him in an area where only Hestia was allowed to touch him.

"OH MERLIN! Moony! Please! Scourgify my hand!" James yelled, flailing his arms around. Remus rolled his eyes and poked Sirius.

"Move to his back," he said. Sirius nodded, and slid down James's body, and sat with one leg on either side of James's waist. James quickly lifted his head and gulped some air.

"_What _the _bloody hell _are you _playing at?_" he yelled.

"See, had you not interrupted, you would know," Peter squeaked

"Well spoken Wormy my man," Sirius said, "If Prongsie here wasn't such a blabbermouth he'd know by now."

"Do you want to know?" Remus teased, standing over James, his wand out. James narrowed his eyes up at the werewolf

"I thought you were the nice one," James said, and Remus grinned widely. He liked slightly mad.

"Ah poor delusional child," Remus said, kneeling down in front of James, patting his head.

"Just _tell _me," James muttered

"Well James, you're getting married, and will be the first of us Marauders to leave the bachelor lifestyle," he said, spreading his arms wide. James continued to glare at him, "Well, we've decided that, in honour of starting the new age, of married Marauders, we're going to start a tradition," Remus said. Sirius was bouncing up and down on James's back excitedly, "At the bachelor party of every Marauder, we're going to get dirty"

* * *

"Merlin Hest! _This _is what I'm wearing? For my _bachelorette party_?" Lily hissed, as Hestia dragged her out of the flat, followed by Alice, "Alice, have mercy!" Lily squeaked, realizing arguing with Hestia was a lost cause, but Alice only grinned

"No can do Lily, I think it's spectacular," she grinned.

"But I'm cold!" Lily squeaked, as they stopped on the roadside. It was a muggle street, and heads were turning to look at Lily, "And people keep _looking _at me," she said, as a muggle boy wolf-whistled from across the street.

"Why wouldn't they? Honestly Lily, _I_ am having a hard time looking away," Hestia said, grinning at her masterpiece. Lily was standing in front of her wearing a dress, which could barely be considered a dress, the amount of material that had been used to make it. Lily could have fashioned a nice set of undergarments from it, and had no material to spare.

"But I'm uncomfortable," Lily said, pulling at the hem of her ridiculously short, skin tight, strapless dress, "Hest honestly _nobody _wears these!" she squeaked. Hestia grinned and put her arm around Lily's shoulders as a boy, no older than 12, waved at Lily from across the street.

"Savour in the attention Lils, you'll be having fun in a few minutes," Hestia grinned. Lily rolled her eyes, and Alice laughed

"Don't worry Lils, I already talked it out with her, it'll actually be fun," she assured her, and Lily relaxed slightly, much to her friends' amusement.

"I'm not _that _cruel," Hestia said, and took Lily's hand, "You'll enjoy this evening, I swear," she said, and Lily sighed, nodding. She believed her, "Now, we're going to apparate," she said. Lily nodded and the three girls held hands, before Hestia turned on the spot, taking them to an unknown location

* * *

"When you said dirty I was expecting something different," James said, as he climbed out of a large mud lake

"Oh come on Prongsie," Sirius laughed, throwing a fistful of mud at him, hitting James in the middle of the chest. James laughed and jumped at Sirius, the two falling into the mud, splashing it everywhere. Remus chuckled and ran out of the mud, avoiding the wrestling match. Peter was sitting outside already, completely cleaned, and watching the fight, amused.

"So when do we move on to Phase Two?" Remus asked, looking at Peter, who shrugged.

"This is your guys' plan," he said, and Remus huffed. He turned to see Sirius run at James, who was standing up victoriously, and tackle him back into the mud, "Give them a minute," he said, as he watched the closest thing they had to brothers wrestle each other, screaming and yelling like children

* * *

"Having fun?" Hestia giggled, as Lily spluttered, looking around. They were at a club. Not just any club, but the most exclusive club in the muggle world.

"How did you get us in here?" Lily asked breathlessly, and Hestia grinned

"I have my ways," she said, and Alice coughed, "Shut it Alice," Hestia hissed, and Lily raised her eyebrows, "Never mind that, let's go _dance_!" Hestia squealed, dragging the bemused Lily onto the dance floor.

They walked onto the dance floor and Lily flushed deep maroon as people turned their heads in their direction, "Are you _trying _to embarrass me?" she squeaked, and Hestia laughed, "Hest I _hate _being the centre of attention!" she squeaked, as a muggle boy watched them.

"Just dance!" Hestia said, pulling Lily's hand and twirling her around in circles. Lily laughed as her hair flew everywhere. Alice laughed and the three of them stood in a triangle, dancing together.

"Lily calm down, you're getting married in less than two days, have fun being _single _for tonight," Alice laughed.

"But I don't want to be single," Lily mumbled, but nevertheless, allowed her friends to twirl her around and jump around like they were crazy. Despite the fact that Lily wasn't a party person, she found herself enjoying being with nobody but her friends.

* * *

"Where are we?" James asked, as they walked into a bar full off drunken muggles, having been apparated there by Sirius. They had spent the night doing all sorts of crazy things; the mud fight being the least crazy of them all.

"This, Prongs, is where the magic happens," Sirius announced as a light turned on, revealing a pole on a stage.

"Padfoot, are we where I think we are?" James choked, and Sirius shrugged

"We don't share a mind, thank Merlin for that," he said, and James looked down at him with wide eyes

"Padfoot!"

"Yes James?"

"Sirius," Remus said, looking at him. Sirius had planned this part by himself.

"We are at a strip club," Peter groaned, as a scantily dressed muggle girl walked onto the stage to lots of drunken cheering

"Well let's get a good seat!" Sirius said happily, dragging them to a booth. The girl started to twirl around the pole to screeches and applause from the drunken men.

_10 minutes later…_

"Oh Merlin," James squeaked, banging his head on the table. Remus was looking at the ceiling, bright red, and Peter was staring, open mouthed at the stage. Sirius was sitting there, his face pale.

"This was a terrible idea," Sirius choked, and grabbed James's arm, "Let's go!" he squeaked, dragging his friend out of the booth. As soon as they stood up, there was a loud cheer, and Sirius paled as a scantily dressed waitress walked over to him.

Remus hid his face in his hands

Peter ducked under the table

James closed his eyes and shut his hands over his ears.

"RUN!" James's eyes flew open to see Sirius sprint out of the club, quickly followed by Remus, Peter and James. The waitress stood there, eyebrows raised. They ran out of the club and past a few buildings, just in case the devil women, who wanted to ruin their relationships, followed them, before finally collapsing on a bench.

They all caught their breath before looking at each other, and suddenly they were all in hysterics.

"I can't believe that just happened!" Remus choked out, leaning against a building, tears streaming down his face

"Did you see Prongs' face?" Sirius barked. The other three looked at him condescendingly, "What?"

"Did you see _your _face?" James asked, smirking, and Sirius paled

"SHE WAS GOING TO KILL ME!" he shrieked, "DID YOU SEE THE WAY SHE WAS LOOKING AT ME?" he yelled, causing a few birds to fly out of a tree

"Padfoot, for the love of Merlin, shut _up_!" Remus hissed, clapping his hand over Sirius's mouth.

"Yeah Sirius you'll ruin everything," Peter said, and quickly clapped his hand over his mouth

"Ruin what?" James asked, looking questioningly at Peter, who shook his head, "Ruin _what _Pete?"

"I can't believe I just willingly left a place with scantily dressed females," Sirius said quickly, changing the topic, "What will I tell the children?" he asked dramatically, grasping his chest.

"I don't know about you mate, but my children and I aren't going to talk about these things," Remus said, and James laughed

"If I have a son I'll discuss it with him, but my daughter will be locked in the house all day," James grinned, and Peter gasped

"Why?"

"Because, if she's anything like Lily I'm not letting her out of the house," he said, and a large grin split across his face

"I don't get it," Peter said, frowning, and Remus rolled his eyes at his friend's stupidity

"Well, she'll be gorgeous," James said sheepishly, and Sirius chuckled.

"Naw, Prongsie," Sirius said in a squeaky voice, pinching his cheek, "You're whipped!" he said happily, and James rolled his eyes as Remus and Peter laughed

"She is extremely attractive," Remus said, and James grinned

"_Thank _you," James said, and then frowned, his eyes burning, "If you-"

"Merlin James I am not going to _do _anything! You're getting _married!_" Remus said exasperatedly, as Sirius and Peter howled with laughter. James smiled at Remus sheepishly and Remus chuckled, shaking his head fondly

"I don't think he realizes he's getting _married _to Lily Evans," Sirius said, and James's eyes widened

"I'm getting married to Lily Evans, _Lily Evans_, THE Lily Evans," he gasped, and Sirius turned to look at his friend, who was glowing

"Yeah mate, you are," he smiled, clapping James on the back. There was a moment's silence when James suddenly stood up, laughing

"What happened to him?" Peter asked uncertainly

"You owe me twenty galleons," James said, "All of you," he grinned.

"Don't tell me you did this for the galleons," Remus gasped, and James rolled his eyes

"Yes Moony, I did all this for sixty galleons," he said sarcastically, and Remus chuckled, "No, but I _told _you," he said smugly.

"When?" Sirius said, scratching the top of his head

"First year," Remus snorted, and Sirius rolled his eyes

"Doesn't count!" he said, and James shook his head

"A bet's a bet"

"Oh really?" Sirius said, eyes twinkling, and James groaned, "I know some bets you never fulfilled," he grinned straightening up.

"Come on mate, don't embarrass him at his bachelor party," Remus said. Sirius sighed and crossed his arms

"I guess I cant do that," he said, and turned away, thinking deeply. James looked at Remus and mouthed 'thank you'.

"So what are we doing now?" Peter asked, and Remus laughed

"We're going home,"

"Why?" James asked bewildered, and Remus grinned

"It's three in the morning," he said, and James looked at him, bewildered

"REALLY? What time did we start?" he asked,

"Eight," Sirius grinned, putting his arm around James's shoulder, "Time sure does fly when you're a Marauder eh?" he asked, nudging James, who grinned at him, "But before we go home we have to wait"

"For what?" James asked curiously.

* * *

"Come on!" Hestia squealed, looking at her watch. She grabbed the two girls and dragged them out of the club.

"Why are we leaving?" Lily asked, breathless. They had been dancing for Merlin knew how long, and she had had so much fun. She was also pretty sure Alice was drunk, her epistemology only proven correct as Alice crashed into a bench.

"Who put that there?" she asked. Hestia giggled and grabbed Alice's arm, holding Alice to her right side, Lily on her left, "Hestia, I had a dream about you," Alice said, before smiling dreamily

"That's great Alice," Lily laughed, and Hestia laughed along with her, "So where are we going?"

"Shut up," Hestia said, and Lily gasped

"Hest! Where are we going?"

"You're so impatient!"

"I'm getting married tomorrow!" Lily squeaked suddenly, and Hestia's eyes widened

"You _are _technically," she grinned, and Lily squealed loudly

"Lily Potter!" she said happily and drunk-Alice clapped.

"Lily Evans Potter," Alice said, and Lily grinned

"I like it better without the Evans," Hestia said matter-of-factly, and Lily shrugged

"They're both nice," she said, and Hestia rolled her eyes

"Because they both have 'Potter' at the end," she said knowingly, and Lily grinned

"Maybe"

"Of course," Hestia laughed, squeezing Lily, "Can you believe you're marrying Potter?" she asked, and Lily laughed

"Oh Merlin, I should get a time turner and go back a few years and tell myself to see how I'd react," she snorted, and they all laughed, even drunk-Alice.

"Oh I cant do this anymore," Hestia grumbled. They stopped and Hestia pulled her wand out, pointing it at Alice, who instantly brightened, herself again.

"Was I drunk?" she asked, and her friends laughed, nodding.

"Very"

"Apparently you had a dream about Hest," Lily said, and Alice flushed

"What?" Hestia asked, and Alice grinned cheekily

"Nothing"

"ALICE!"

"Is it time?" she asked

"Time for what?" Lily asked, looking at her two friends

"Hold on," Hsetia said, looking down at her watch, "Just a minute"

"Until what?" Lily asked

"Okay, so, where are we going, the first or second place?" Alice asked, and Hestia shrugged

"What places?"

"No idea"

"What?" Lily asked again, only to be ignored, again.

"How long will it take?" Alice asked, and Hestia shrugged

"How long will what take?"

"I don't know honestly, shouldn't take _that _long, then again," Hestia said, and Alice nodded knowingly

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

* * *

"Did you hear that?" James asked, perking up, looking in the direction opposite the strip club.

"Hear what?" Remus asked, grinning. He had, of course, heard it

"I heard yelling"

"And?" Sirius asked, smirking

"I…I thought it was Lily," James said, and his friends grinned at him, "Don't _laugh_!" he yelled, only causing them to laugh

"Well Prongs, I suggest you listen harder," Sirius said, and James shut up, listening intently

* * *

Hestia smiled and pointed ahead. Lily could see four silhouettes.

"Is that who I think it is?" Lily asked, and Hestia grinned,

"Go," she said, and Lily squealed, before speeding off like a bullet, "Lily! You cant run like that in your dress!" she yelled, but Lily didn't hear her. James turned around quickly, just in time to catch the bullet that flew at him.

"Hi!" Lily squealed, pulling back and grinning into his face. James looked down at her, unable to say anything. She looked incredible. He grinned down at her and she beamed at him, before James frowned slightly.

"Wankers!" James yelled at his friends, who burst out laughing. Hestia and Alice came up behind Lily, grinning.

"Hi," Hestia smiled, winding her fingers through Sirius's. Sirius smiled down at her and kissed her on top of her head.

"How'd it go?" he asked, and Hestia laughed

"Amazing, you?" she asked. To her surprise, Sirius turned red, as did the rest of the Marauders

"What?" Lily asked, as James turned the shade of her hair.

"What did you do?" Alice asked in an amused tone, looking at Remus, who bit his lip

"We did bachelor party stuff," Peter said, and Lily narrowed her eyes at James, who was looking up at the sky, his neck bright red. Hestia looked at Sirius, who was examining his shoes with great interest

"Did you-"

"Go to a-"

"Strip club?" Lily and Hestia asked together, looking at their boyfriends, who looked at each other for help

"No!" Peter squeaked, giving them away

"That's gross," Alice said, crinkling her nose

"Well you don't know what we did at Franks bachelor party," Remus muttered, and Alice gasped as Lily smirked slightly.

"Did you?" Hestia asked, bringing them back on topic

"Er, maybe," Sirius mumbled

"Just a little," James said

"We ran out before we saw anything!" Remus said defensively, only causing the two boys to blush harder, and the girls to giggle

"Did you get _scared_?" Hestia taunted, her mood changing, pinching Sirius's cheeks

"No," he said, sounding thoroughly like a liar

"I think they did," Lily grinned, and James stuck his tongue out at her.

"Okay, enough of teasing," Remus said, bright red, "We have stuff to do," he said, looking meaningfully at Sirius, Peter, Alice and Hestia, who all nodded.

"What stuff?" James asked

"Come on," Hestia said, taking Lily's hand. Alice came on her other side and took Lily's other hand and the two turned on the spot, dragging Lily with them.

"Where are they-" James started, but was suddenly forced through what felt like a wormhole by Sirius.

"I don't understand what we're doing here," Lily said, looking around the Shrieking Shack

"It's really creepy," Alice said

"Thanks," Remus muttered bitterly as the boys arrived. Lily threw him an apologetic look and he shrugged it off. Alice didn't know about the werewolf thing.

"Well why are we here?" James asked, scaring Lily by coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. Lily turned to the side and smiled at him, and he grinned.

"Thank you James, why _are _we here?" Lily said, turning to look at Sirius.

"Well come on then," he said, waving them over, Hestia by his side. With that, Sirius and Hestia made their way up a creepy, rickety staircase, followed by Alice, Remus and Peter, all with excited expressions.

"I don't get it," Lily said, turning to James, who grinned.

"Me neither, come on," he said, taking her hand, and leading her towards the stairs, "How was the bachelorette party?" he asked nervously, and Lily shrugged

"It was fun,"

"What did you do?" he asked warily, and Lily frowned

"Why are you so awkward?" she asked, and James grinned

"Well, considering what you're wearing, it couldn't have been an, er, uneventful, party," he said, running his hand through his hair, his eyes searching over her, causing her to flush darkly at his appreciative glance.

"Hestia dressed me," she choked out, and James grinned.

"Not what I asked Evans," he chuckled, nudging her gently with his shoulder, and Lily grinned

"We went to a muggle pub," she sighed, giving in to him. She saw his eyes widen a little and bit back a laugh.

"…and?" he asked, a little threateningly, as if _daring _her to tell him that some bloke had talked to her.

"We danced," she shrugged, and James's eyes narrowed

"Who did you dance with?" he asked, and Lily's jaw clenched. She hated being treated like a pet, or a piece of property.

"Does it matter?" she asked irritably

"Well I'd like to know," James said

"You don't need to know," she said, and James rolled his eyes

"Lils"

"What, do you not trust me?" she challenged.

"What? What are you talking about? Of _course _I trust you!" he squeaked

"Then why do you keep questioning me?" she hissed and James rolled his eyes

"I have a right to know don't you think?" he asked

"Well-"

"Guys, are you coming?" Sirius yelled, poking his head out of the room, "Er, is everything okay?" he asked concernedly, noticing the obvious tension in the room.

"Er, yeah, fine," said Lily, looking anywhere but at James, her face flushed. James was looking down at the floor. Lily quickly went up the stairs, her red hair swinging behind her and playing on her shoulder blades. She brushed awkwardly past the dumbstruck and slightly frightened Sirius, who had worry lines etched into his handsome features.

"What's going on mate?" Sirius asked worriedly, looking at James. James grabbed at his hair in frustration and shook his head, and began to make his way around Sirius. That proved unsuccessful. Sirius placed his hand on James's shoulder and shook him, "Mate you're not going anywhere until you speak," he said frankly, and the corner of James's mouth twitched.

"We had a fight," he said, and Sirius rolled his eyes

"Hest and I fight all the time," he pointed out, "Not the end of the world," he said, and James gave him a weak smile, "But I do know how to fix it," he winked. James looked at him hopefully and Sirius laughed, "Come on mate"

"W-what?" James said, as Sirius shoved him into a room, causing him to run straight into Lily. She squeaked as James slammed into her and she began to fall over. Had it not been for his arms wrapped firmly around her waist, she would have fallen over.

"Okay!" Sirius announced, breaking the awkward tension around the couple, who were looking at each other, "Sit!"

"Why?" Lily asked curiously, quickly looking away from James's extremely intense gaze.

"Just do it," Remus chuckled, as Sirius's eyes widened in disbelief.

"She _dared _question ME?" he exclaimed, pointing at Lily dramatically, and a grin split across her face.

"Sorry your Sirius-ness," Lily laughed, and sat down.

"No!" Sirius yelled, and Lily looked up at him, exasperated, "You have to sit there!" he whined, pointing to two beanbags, "You and Prongs!" he added, winking at James, who smirked. Devious, that Sirius Black.

James and Lily sat down next to each other, visibly tense. To Lily's shock, Sirius pulled out a pensieve and a large screen used in muggle classrooms to watch movies, "What?" she asked, confused, only to be ignored. She noticed the grins of anticipation on her friends' faces and crossed her arms.

"Do you feel left out?" Hestia teased, nudging Lily, who rolled her eyes.

"Well-"

"Shush!" Sirius hissed, waving his wand, switching off the lights. Lily shot an irritated look at him through the darkness, which, obviously, he did not see. James, however, did see it, and she saw him grin, "OH RIGHT!" Sirius's voice came through the darkness, "I forgot to start," he said cheekily, and Lily laughed, "Shut it Evans," he muttered darkly.

Then, the magic happened.

The screen was suddenly full of light, the images blurring across it kind of hazy from age. A younger Lily was standing a few feet away at Kings Cross Station, arguing with Petunia. Lily watched as she grabbed Petunia's sleeve and hissed something at her, and remembered taunting her sister about writing to Dumbledore. Her face adopted an expression of awe. She was watching memories.

A few feet away from the arguing siblings was Severus Snape with his mother, and a few feet to the right of him, was James Potter. Lily watched as the young James walked through the wall as if it was the most natural thing in the world, which to him, it probably was, and his face morph into a look of extreme excitement, standing next to Emily and Daniel, the latter of which was crying. She heard a chuckle and turned to see James grinning at the memory.

Back in the memory, Daniel and Emily jumped, looking down at a wristwatch. Lily saw their faces adopt apologetic expressions as they looked down at James, who shrugged it off, but his eyes betrayed his pain. Emily kissed him quickly on the cheek and Daniel hugged him tightly, before the two disapparated, leaving the eleven year old by himself. The young James turned in response to a shriek of "freak" and as his eyes fell on the redhead, his hand flew up to his hair.

Lily laughed, as did everyone else, and leaned her head on James's shoulder, and James jumped, "Sorry," she whispered to him, and James grinned. He kissed the top of her head and put his arm around her shoulders, holding her to him.

"Me too," he breathed back, as Lily snuggled into his chest, eyes glued to the screen

"Shh I'm watching," she whispered, grinning at him, and he shook his head fondly.

The setting changed, and suddenly they were in a compartment in Kings Cross. The young Lily was sitting by the window, her face wet with tears. A younger Sirius walked into the compartment, followed by the young James, whose eyes were looking around.

"That's one attractive bloke," Sirius said admiringly, and Hestia giggled, as Lily rolled her eyes.

"I am aren't I," James confirmed, and Sirius snorted

"Honestly Pr-"

"SHH!" everyone hissed, and Sirius, after grumbling under his breath, crossed his arms, turning back to the memory.

The young James had frozen in the doorway upon seeing the redhead by the window, and he ran his hand through his hair.

"Sit down!" the young Sirius said, and little James, still looking at young Lily, sat down. His eyes kept darting over to the younger Lily as the younger Sirius began to talk, and a few seconds later, a creature with a rather large nose and greasy black hair walked in.

Sirius made retching sounds. James yelled in alarm and hid his face. Remus smacked his forehead. The girls laughed.

The younger version of Severus walked over to young Lily and sat down across from her. They watched, amused, as eleven-year old James shot him a nasty look, before continuing his exciting conversation with little Sirius.

"I don't want to talk to you," the young Lily said in a constricted voice.

"Why not?" the young Severus replied, bewildered.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore," the young Lily sniffled.

"So what?" Snape retorted. The young James rolled his eyes for no apparent reason in the middle of his conversation, his facial expression reading 'idiot'.

Lily giggled and looked up at James, who was rolling his eyes. He looked the same. Lily turned back to the screen to see her past self throw Snape a look of deep dislike

"So she's my sister!"

"She's only a-" Snape began, but bit the side of his cheek as the young Lily wiped her face, "But we're going!" he said excitedly, and the young Lily smiled slightly, "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!" he said excitedly, and the young Lily half smiled, "You'd better be in Slytherin"

"EW!" Sirius yelled in a deep voice. There was a distinct smacking noise and a small whimper, and Sirius was quiet.

"Slytherin?" the young James said, turning bewilderedly towards them, "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he asked, turning towards the young Sirius, who grimaced.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin," the young Sirius said, and the young James's eyebrows shot up

"Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!" he squeaked, and the young Sirius smiled

"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?" he asked, and the young James adopted an air of such pride, that Lily smiled at his childishness.

"_Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! _Like my dad," he said proudly, and the young Snape made a small, disparaging noise. The young James, who already visibly disliked Snape, turned on him, "Got a problem with that?"

"No," said the young Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise, "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"

"Where are you going seeing as you're neither?" interjected the young Sirius, and they all erupted in laughter

"TAKE THAT SNIVELLUS!" Sirius yelled, holding up his hand to James, "Come on mate, hi-five!"

"That was _years _ago mate," James said, to no reaction from Sirius. James laughed and hi-fived Sirius, who sat down again happily.

The young James in the memory roared with laughter. The young Lily sat up rather flushed, and looked from James to Sirius in dislike, "Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."

"Oooooo…" the two boys chorused, the young James a little half-heartedly. The young James tried to trip the young Snape as he passed.

"See ya, Snivellus!" Sirius yelled, and the two boys roared with laughter as the compartment door closed with a click,

"THIS IS MY FAVOURITE PART!" Sirius yelled, and they all paid rapt attention, as James groaned. Lily looked at him curiously, to see a blush creeping up onto his face, and turned back to the screen in anticipation.

"What's with you and her?" the young Sirius asked curiously, looking at the young James, who smiled, embarrassed, but determined at the same time.

"I'm going to marry her someday"

Lily looked at James in amazement, to see him flushing darkly, as all the boys roared with laughter. Lily heard both Alice and Hestia squealing, obviously thinking it was cute. James looked down at her and shrugged slightly, as if to say 'well?' Lily grinned and kissed his cheek, winding her fingers through his.

"We have one more," Remus said, and Sirius turned to him

"We do?"

"Well, I do," he grinned, and Sirius's eyes widened

"You did not!" he yelled, and both Remus and Peter laughed

"Sorry mate, can't do much about it now, can you?" Remus said, as the screen lit up once again. James, Lily, Hestia and Alice turned with large amounts of curiosity to look at the screen.

They were in the infamous Marauders dormitory. James had green hair, and Lily grinned. They were in their second year, she had done that to him when she had "fallen" into the black lake "by accident" and he had rescued her out of "chivalry". Translated; he had _pushed_ her in the lake so he could rescue her and touch her with reason without her biting his head off. Lily grinned at James and mouthed 'sorry', and he laughed.

"Evans sure is a bitch," the young Sirius mumbled, wringing his hair. Yes, Lily had pushed him in the lake for trying to "dry her clothes" with his hands.

"Language, Sirius," Remus's voice came from the bathroom, and the 12-year old rolled his eyes.

"Don't call her that," the young James said defensively.

"What? Evans or bitch?" the young Sirius asked

"Both!"

"Then what do I call her?" the young Sirius asked exasperatedly.

"Er, her name?" the young Peter suggested from his bed.

"I do call her by her name!" the young Sirius squeaked.

"Her _first _name," Remus suggested, walking out of the bathroom

"Even _I_ don't call her by her first name," the young James pointed out, and Remus nodded.

"Touche"

"Button!"

"Sirius…just…what?" the young James said, looking at the young Sirius

"That's what it means in French!" the young Sirius said defensively, and the other three rolled their eyes, "Anyway, I _do _call her by her name!"

"Once again, mate, her _first _name," young Remus said, and young Sirius frowned

"I…do…" he said uncertainly. The young Remus and James exclaimed a glance.

"You do?"

"Yes, I do,"

"Sirius what's her first name?" the young James asked curiously

"Er, Evans?"

"THAT'S HER LAST NAME!"

"WHAT?"

They were all dying of hysterical laughter, rolling around on the floor, while Sirius sat cross-legged, arms crossed, "Shut it!"

"You thought that was her first name?" Hestia choked out

"N-no," Sirius said, only leading to more laughter. He grumbled, embarrassed, and stood up, withdrawing his wand. The lights turned back on and Lily groaned,

"No!" she whined, looking at Sirius, who grinned evilly

"The rest of it is for later," he said, and she pouted. He laughed and held his hand up as they all stood up, stretching, ready to get back home. He pulled her up and Lily threw her arms around his neck, hugging him.

"Thank you so much! That was amazing!" she squealed, and Sirius smiled.

"You're welcome, it was from all of us," he said, and Lily grinned at all her friends

"How did you do it?" James asked

"We combined the pensieve with a muggle thing, called a video," Remus said, and James nodded, impressed.

"What time is it?" Alice asked, yawning.

"It's about 5," Peter squeaked, and Hestia's eyes widened in horror.

"It's _FIVE?_" she yelled, and they all jumped, "That's it, say bye, _now_," Hestia hissed, looking at Lily.

"Why?" Lily asked, bewildered.

"YOU CANNOT HAVE DARK CIRCLES FOR YOUR WEDDING!" Hestia shrieked, "It'll ruin _everything. _We are going back home _right now_ and you are going to _sleep_. Say bye to James, you wont see him until you meet him at the altar," Hestia said, and Lily's eyes widened.

"Why?" James asked, holding onto Lily.

"Because you can't see each other 24 hours before the wedding," Remus explained, amusedly.

"But that's so long!" James whined, and Lily nodded vigorously.

"You can either say bye _now_, or we're just going to leave," Hestia said harshly, and James sighed. James took Lily's hand and dragged her out of the room to the hallway outside. He looked down at her and Lily looked up at him, eyes twinkling

"I just want to say, I'm sorry for being such a twat before, I trust you completely," he said, and Lily shook her head.

"I'm sorry for overreacting," she smiled, and James chuckled

"That's fine," he laughed, and took both her hands in his, leaning his forehead against hers, "The next time I see you, you'll be changing from Lily Evans to Lily Potter," he said, his stomach, as well as Lily's, swooping at the thought.

"I'll see you at the alter then," she smiled, and James's eyes twinkled of happiness

"Who'd have thought, Lily Evans, meeting me at the alter," he whispered, and Lily grinned.

"You mean Evans?"

"Oh, of course, your _real _first name," James snorted, and Lily giggled.

"LILY!"

"I should go," she grumbled, and James grinned down at her.

"I'll see you at the alter," he smiled

"We'll see," Lily teased, and got up on her tiptoes, kissing him.

"LILY!"

"Oh bloody Merlin," she grumbled, releasing her hands from James's hair, "I'll see you, er, tomorrow," she said frowning, and James laughed, nodding.

"Yes, tomorrow."

"Bye Potter," she said in a mock-nasty tone, and James grinned, as they walked back into the room.

"Bye Evans!" he yelled. Lily laughed and as Hestia grabbed her arm, she looked into his eyes, and was taken away.

_How the bloody hell am I going to survive 24 hours without him? _she sighed internally.

**

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Hey guys! Sorry that took WAY too long. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you. Thing is, Monday I had an English test, Tuesday I had a History debate, Wednesday I had a math test, Thursday I had a bio test and Friday (today) I had a French test, so I was a bit busy. **

**But my hell week is over, and I promise there will NEVER be such a long break. I wont forget the story if you don't!**

**HAPPY FANFICCING AND HAPPY WEEKEND! **


	17. That Fateful Day

**Hey all! See, I started this BEFORE I updated the last chapter. DEDICATION. Also I'm very tired. Don't worry though, I have NOTHING this week. I can write! I'll have the chapter after this up soon and the chapter after that even sooner because I get SPRING BREAK. Boo-yeah!**

**

* * *

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter you'd be waiting for BOOKS not UPDATES. Honestly people.**

_**

* * *

Previously:**_

"_I'll see you at the alter," he smiled_

"_We'll see," Lily teased, and got up on her tiptoes, kissing him. _

"_LILY!"_

"_Oh bloody Merlin," she grumbled, releasing her hands from James's hair, "I'll see you, er, tomorrow," she said frowning, and James laughed, nodding. _

"_Yes, tomorrow."_

* * *

"You're _still asleep_?" Hestia said incredulously as she walked into Lily's room.

"No," Lily mumbled from deep within the covers.

"Then get out of bed!"

"Why?"

"If you're not asleep then get out of bed," Hestia said, and Lily groaned

"I mean, yes, I'm fast asleep," Lily said, and Hestia laughed

"Get up," she said, pushing Lily's covers back and grabbing her arm, pulling her, sliding her across the bed so half her body was dangling off, "Lily if you don't react you'll fall on the floor, and it will hurt. Just by the way." When Lily didn't respond, Hestia tugged on her arm, and, as predicted, she fell to the floor.

"Hestia!" she screeched, jumping to her feet, wobbly.

"I warned you," Hestia shrugged, and ran out of the room before Lily could do anything drastic, like kill her. Lily, grumbling, stretched her arms above her head, before carefully making her way to the bathroom.

Once done, she pulled a jumper on over her pajamas and walked out of her bedroom to get something to eat, "What's for breakfast?" she asked sleepily as she entered the kitchen. She looked up and jumped as, instead of Hestia, she found two amused Marauders, "What are you two doing here?" she asked Sirius and Remus, who grinned.

"Breakfast Lily-flower?" Sirius asked, and Lily nodded

"It's morning time, you eat breakfast in the morning," she pointed out

"As much as I agree with your logic Lily, it is not, in fact, morning time," Remus said, and Lily frowned

"It is!"

"No, Lily-flower, it's about 4pm," Sirius smirked, and Lily's eyes widened

"WHAT?"

"I said, it's about 4 in the evening," Sirius repeated

"What?" she squeaked, eyes wide

"Is she deaf?" Sirius asked, turning to Remus, who laughed.

"Lily you fell asleep at 5, it makes sense for you to sleep late," Remus said matter-of-factly

"Actually, she fell asleep at 7," Hestia said irritably, walking into the kitchen with Alice and Frank.

"Why is everyone here?" Lily asked, looking down at her pajamas.

"Because, my dear, you're getting married soon," Hestia grinned, "tomorrow morning to be certain, and don't worry, there are going to be three less people here in a second," she said, and Lily frowned

"Who's leaving?"

"Alice, Frank and myself," she said, "So you're here with those two," she said, nodding towards Sirius and Remus, who grinned widely.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked curiously, and Hestia sighed

"I'm going to James," she said, and Lily's eyes widened

"Wait for me I'll get ready," she said, and Sirius snickered

"Lily you're not allowed to see him until the wedding," Frank said, smiling, and Lily groaned

"But-"

"_No _excuses," Hestia said, glaring at her best friend, "Now, goodbye," she said, and disapparated, followed by a laughing Alice and Frank.

"She does know I can just apparate there right?" Lily said, turning to Remus and Sirius.

"No you cant," Sirius said matter-of-factly

"That's why we're here," Remus grinned, and Lily huffed

"But I want to go!"

"We're doing wedding stuff anyway, since it's tomorrow," Remus said, herding Lily towards the sofas in her living room. She sat down and crossed her legs in front of her, looking at Sirius and Remus, who were standing up in front of her.

"So what do you want to talk about?" she asked, looking expectantly up at the boys after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Er, Evans, look," Sirius said, suddenly extremely serious, "We have to have a chat. James is my best mate,"

"OUR best mate," Remus cut in. Sirius gave him a blank look, causing Lily to giggle, before turning back to her.

"As I was saying, he's _our_ best mate," he said with a glance at Remus, who chortled, "and you're getting _married. Married _Evans. That's a really big deal." He said, looking at her slightly harshly, and Lily bit her lip.

"Are you _trying _to scare her out of this?" Remus asked exasperatedly. Sirius looked at him, frowning, and he exhaled, frustrated, before turning back to Lily, "Just stop talking, I'll do it, ugh you're useless," he muttered, and Lily grinned as Sirius pouted slightly, "basically Lils," he said, turning back to her, "this is James we're talking about. You have no idea what getting married, let alone to _you_, means to him. It's a big deal. James is extremely, well, _James _about this, and I just hope you know that, and don't hurt him because of it," Remus said, and Lily nodded. James had no idea how lucky he was to have friends like Remus and Sirius. What other friends would do this?

"Also," Sirius said, recovering from his moping session in regards to being dubbed useless, "If you hurt him, I'll kill you," he said bluntly, his face expressionless, and his voice completely serious.

Lily's eyes widened, as did Remus's, and there were a few minutes of shocked silence in which Sirius looked at Lily, while Lily and Remus looked at him. Just when Lily could not take it anymore Sirius started to laugh.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE LOOK ON YOUR FACES!"

* * *

"Hello!" Alice sung as they arrived at the Marauders flat, to see James and Peter sitting on the sofa. Peter was grinning mischievously while James looked extremely irritated.

"What happened here?" Frank asked amusedly.

"He wants to visit Lily, and I'm not letting him," Peter explained, laughing as James's yes narrowed in response to what he had said.

"She's finally awake," Hestia chuckled, walking out of Sirius's bedroom where she had left her stuff. James perked up at the mention of his fiancée and turned to Hestia.

"_Now_? She _just _woke up?" he asked, a grin spreading across his face, "does she realize what time it is?" he laughed. The others in the room watched James with smiles on their faces.

"She walked into the kitchen and asked them for breakfast, so I'd say no," Hestia laughed, and James grinned.

"Them?"

"The boys," Hestia explained. James laughed, and then stopped abruptly, frowning.

"Boys?"

"Sirius and Remus," she said nonchalantly, and his eyes widened in shock.

"WHAT?" he yelled, jumping up, "I thought they were in their rooms!" he squeaked, looking around frantically as if expecting his two best mates to jump up and yell 'surprise!' Alice, Frank and Peter laughed at James's reaction, and Hestia giggled, before gathering herself.

"Okay, James you can kill them or whatever later, we have to do your final fitting," she said, walking over to him, holding a garment bag. James groaned and took the garment bag, and shuffled into his bedroom, followed by laughs

* * *

"You know I can just apparate to him right?" Lily asked Remus and Sirius, as she sat on the counter, watching them attempt to make an omelet for her, the muggle way, which they claimed was not actually so hard.

Remus was decently skilled in the kitchen; someone had to cook at the Marauders place, and if any of the others did, there would be severe poisoning issues to deal with. Even though Remus wasn't too bad, Sirius was having a hard time beating the egg, something he had decided that he wanted to do. Probably just because it involved 'beating' something. Hard time was an understatement anyway. He was splattering egg everywhere, and Lily was sure that she'd have an omelet the size of her pinky nail.

"No you can't," Remus said, continuing their conversation. Lily was arguing that she would still be able to go see James even though they weren't technically allowed.

"Yes I can, through the magic of apparation," she said, putting up jazz hands on the word 'apparation'.

"I'm not saying you're not capable of seeing him," Remus said. He took a breath to continue but just then, a bit of semi-liquidized egg landed on his face, "Oh for the love of Merlin!" he yelled exasperatedly, grabbing the bowl from Sirius, who was laughing like an idiot, "I'll do it, go sit down with Lily," he said in an authoritative voice. Sirius sighed dramatically and hopped up on the counter next to Lily.

"What Moony here was trying to say, was even though it's physically possible for you to go and see him, you _can't_, not just because of ethical or religious or spiritual or whatever stuff, but because Hestia has only ordered us to stay here because she doesn't want you to see him," he said, and Lily huffed.

"Thank you Padfoot," Remus said, and Sirius gave him two thumbs up.

"I hate her," she said matter-of-factly.

"Well I'm _sorry_," Hestia said in a teasing manner, walking into the kitchen.

"Hestia! I didn't know you were here!" Lily squeaked, and Hestia laughed.

"I figured, hey sweetie," she said, smiling at Sirius, who grinned at her.

"Sweetie?" Remus asked, his eyebrows raised and a slightly nauseated expression on his face

"Why not?" Sirius asked defensively, turning to Remus.

"Because there's nothing _sweet _about you," Remus said. Sirius snorted but otherwise ignored Remus, who knew he'd won, as implied by the cocky grin on his face.

"We should go Moons it's late," Sirius said, hopping off the counter and patting Lily's knee, "Prongs is by himself,"

"Isn't Wormtail there?" Remus asked

"I repeat, Prongs is alone," Sirius said, and Lily sighed

"You're so mean to poor Peter!"

"Let it go," Hestia said, "I've already tried this"

"Good advice," Sirius said, kissing Hestia's cheek, "See you later, come _on _Moony!" he added, watching amused as Remus attempted to pour the bowl of liquidized eggs onto the omelet pan, "MOONY!" Remus jumped as Sirius yelled and the bowl went flying, it's contents falling all over the floor.

"SIRIUS!" Remus bellowed, as Sirius and Lily laughed. Hestia was glaring at the eggs on the floor; she hated a messy kitchen.

"Just go," Lily advised, and Remus grinned at her.

"See you tomorrow, at the wedding!" he said happily, and Lily's stomach flipped. Remus and Sirius said goodnight, it was, after all, 8pm, and disapparated.

"So how was your day?" Lily asked, as Hestia quickly pulled her wand out, and began to clean the floor as well as all utensils touched by the boys.

"Your fiancé was a pain in the bum," Hestia said, and Lily grinned.

"I am aware"

"I'm sure you are," Hestia laughed. Once she was satisfied with the condition of the floor, she stored her wand and turned to Lily, a grin on her face, "You're getting married tomorrow"

"I am," Lily grinned. Hestia laughed and pulled Lily off the counter, "Where are we going?"

"You're going to bed," Hestia said, and Lily choked

"What? But I just woke up!"

"You _cannot _have dark circles under your eyes tomorrow! Plus, I don't think you'll be sleeping much tomorrow night," she winked, and Lily flushed deep maroon, causing Hestia to laugh. Hestia shoved Lily onto her bed, and lay down next to her

"Er, what are you doing?" Lily asked, looking at Hestia with raised eyebrows, and Hestia grinned

"It's our last night living together," she said, and began to braid Lily's long hair

"Wow, after so many years," Lily said, and Hestia nodded, "At least we'll still be friends," Lily said, and Hestia sighed

"We will, and I wont be alone, Sirius is moving in here," she said, a grin spreading across her face, and Lily laughed

"Oh Merlin, my room is going to be taken over by a _boy_," she said, scrunching her nose.

"I apologize profusely to your room. It's going to smell disgusting," Hestia laughed, and Lily grinned

"We're both going to be living with boys,"

"Disgusting. Our houses will smell like, well, man"

"We should enjoy our last night of staying in a sterile environment" Lily said seriously, and Hestia laughed.

"Can I sleep here? It's our last night together, ever."

"Not ever!" Lily said, and Hestia shrugged

"For the most part. Answer the question!" she squeaked, smacking Lily's arm

"Yes, you can," she laughed, leaning her head on her best friends shoulder.

* * *

"MARAUDERS LAST NIGHT TOGETHER!" Sirius announced loudly, holding up his glass of Firewhisky, as were the rest of the Marauders, "To years of Marauderness, and Maraudering, and sleeping with our fellow Marauders, and living with our fellow Marauders, we will cherish these memories forever!" he said, taking a sip from his drink.

"I think that depends on what you mean by 'sleeping with each other'," James snorted, and they all laughed

"Will you not cherish those memories Prongs?"

"He probably will, he's just too afraid to admit it," Remus winked, and James rolled his eyes as his three mates laughed.

"I'll miss living with you guys," Peter squeaked, and they all fell silent, looking at each other. They would all miss it.

"Nothings going to change though, right?" James said, looking at his friends, and they all grinned

"Nothing at all"

"We'll be friends forever," Remus said grandly

"Friends," Sirius snorted, "We'll be _Marauders _forever."

* * *

Lily woke up on the day of her wedding and stared at the ceiling for a few moments, a grin spreading across her face.

_I'm getting married today. _

* * *

James's eyes flew open and as soon as they did, butterflies exploded in his stomach, and his heart rate sped up. He jumped out of his bed, ran towards the mirror, and looked at his reflection, smiling like a fool.

"This is it mate, you're getting married"

* * *

Lily shook her head carefully to make sure she really was awake, before jumping out of bed. There was a squeal and she turned just in time to see Hestia fall off the other side of the bed, Lily having pulled the covers with her. Lily laughed and jumped across the bed to her best friends' aid.

"Are you okay?" she asked, reaching her hand out to help Hestia. Hestia narrowed her eyes at Lily, before sighing and allowing the redhead to pull her up.

"I'm fine. Next time, just, you know, wake me up, nicer," Hestia said, and Lily laughed, "Wait," Hestia said, frowning slightly, "There's not going to be a next time is there?"

"Not in the near future, no," Lily said sadly, smiling nonetheless

"Oh it's useless talking to you when you're all happy," Hestia teased, and Lily grinned widely, "Okay, we have to be at your parents house in an hour to start getting ready so I'm just going to go freshen up," she said. Hestia hugged Lily before running out of the room to her own.

Lily practically sprinted to the bathroom and stripped so quickly she could have set a world record, before jumping into the shower and switching it on. what she had forgotten in her 'I'm getting married' phase, was that she had forgotten to switch on the warm water.

Lily screamed as the ice cold water hit her skin and switched the shower of quickly, cursing herself for being such a moron, before retrieving her wand and changing the temperature of the water to her liking.

While showering, she wondered what James was doing. She grinned, realizing that tomorrow she would be waking up next to James and _living _with him. How would living together work? She thought, pausing momentarily in the process of lathering her hair, they had, after all, never lived together. What if he was extremely messy? Granted, they had lived together for the last year of Hogwarts, but that was different. It was cleaned everyday by house elves. And they had separate rooms.

Oh Merlin, what if he snored?

* * *

James pranced out of his bathroom, yes pranced, wearing what he was going to be wearing to go to the church to get ready. They had decided to get married in a church that was so beautiful that all magic could be passed off as simply a trick of the eye. James loved the church. It reminded him, strangely, of Lily. It was so colourful, and different, and it seemed to be forever changing. It was also impossibly hard to hold on to; there were 7 other couples that had fought with them to get it today.

_Suckers_, he thought, smiling slyly.

"What are you smiling at?" Sirius asked, as he walked into James's room, fully dressed, "And why are you wearing jeans? I know Lily isn't that concerned with attire, but I think that's pushing it, don't you?" Sirius teased, and James laughed.

"I'm getting ready at the church," he said, and Sirius shrugged, "Why are you already in your dress robes? I mean, wont they get dirty?"

"I, Sirius Black, am not dirty…in that sense," he added with a wink, and James snorted.

"What sense mate? You're dirty in all senses," Remus said, walking into the room, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, "Why are you already in your dress robes?"

"Siriusly?" Sirius said, and both Remus and James groaned.

"Are the Sirius jokes back?" Peter asked, walking into the room, "Why are you in your dress robes?" he asked, looking pointedly at Sirius, as the other two laughed.

"Merlin! I'll go change then! Jeez!" Sirius said, exiting James's room dramatically.

* * *

"I don't see why we're coming here first," Lily said, as they reached her parents house, "I thought I was getting ready at the church"

"We're just putting your dress on at the church and touching up. We're doing your main make up and hair here," Hestia said, opening the door to the house, "We're here!"

"Happy wedding day!" Jane sung, running over to Lily and wrapping her arms delicately around her daughter, "Oh _Lily _I cant belive you're getting _married _today!" she squealed, kissing her daughter's forehead

"I'm sorry I tried to control her," Andrew said, walking up behind Jane, smiling. Lily laughed and walked around her now sobbing mother and hugged her father.

"Hi daddy!"

"Hey there," Andrew chuckled, hugging his daughter in a bear hug.

"Enough emotion!" Jane hissed, grabbing Lily's arm and tugging her away from Andrew, who glared at his wife, "Time to get ready!"

"Right you are Mrs. Evans," Hestia said, grabbing Lily's other elbow, "Where do we take her?"

"Lily's room, it's all set up for getting ready," Jane said happily, and the two began dragging her upstairs.

"Arent you coming Mr. E?" Hestia called down the stairs, and Andrew chuckled.

"Might as well," he sighed, dragging himself up the stairs. He entered Lily's room to see Lily whimpering, "What's wrong?" Lily pointed towards the large pink container and Andrew shuddered, "Ouch"

"Oh be quiet," Hestia laughed, opening her large makeup kit, "Lily sit"

"Shouldn't I get changed first?" Lily squeaked, and Hestia sighed.

"Lily we're only doing hair and makeup right now," she said, and Lily rolled her eyes

"And you're telling me they wont mess up when I put the dress on? not to mention take these clothes off?" Lily scoffed. Hestia smirked and pulled her wand out, causing Lily to flush,"Right, I knew that," she said foolishly, and her parents laughed.

"Never question my authority! Whatever, sit, and don't move," Hestia instructed, putting her wand down and grabbing a little tub from her kit, "Okay Lily, so your mum is going to do your hair, and I'm going to do your face," she said as Jane came up behind Lily and grinned at her daughter in the mirror she was facing.

"What do I do?" Andrew asked

"Her nails," Hestia said, and Andrew scrunched his nose

"I'd rather not," he said, only to be ignored by the two women working on his baby girl, "Fine," he sighed, grabbing the nail polish bottle and seating himself in front of Lily, "Why you need this I'll never know," he said, placing Lily's hand on his knee.

"It's Hestia's idea of torture," Lily said, and Andrew grinned. He screwed open the bottle and after dipping the brush, placed the bottle on the floor and picked up Lily's hand, delicately painting her thumb nail, "Why are you so good at this?" Lily asked incredulously, as not even a speck escaped onto her finger, but every inch of the nail was covered evenly.

"I have to girls petal," he chuckled, moving onto the next nail, "I used to spend hours playing with nail polish and Barbie dolls," he chuckled, and Lily smiled at her father, "Also your mother cannot, for the life of her, paint the nails on her right hand"

"I don't coordinate that way!" Jane said defensively, and Andrew grinned at Lily, who laughed.

"Close your eyes pleased," Hestia said, smiling. Lily closed her eyes and felt a wet substance all over her face.

"Er, Hest?"

"Concealer," she said, and Lily sighed. She hated concealer. It was such a pain to take off, "And it is easy to take off, use your wand," Hestia said, and Lily rolled her closed eyes. How Hestia read her mind, she would never know, "I hope James is as good a father as you," Hestia said, looking at Andrew, who flushed slightly and smiled.

"I bet he will be," Andrew chuckled, and Lily frowned. Seeing his daughters frown, Andrew grinned, "He seems like that kind of guy"

"I can't believe you're talking about this. The things you do for your daughters," Jane teased, and Andrew laughed.

"Well, you get sucked into it," he sighed, "If only I had had a son"

"Petunia's more boy than girl," Lily said, and her mother smacked her head playfully.

"Lily!"

"Sorry mum," Lily said, her voice suddenly sad.

"What's wrong?" Andrew asked, putting Lily's perfectly manicured hand down, and looking concernedly at his daughters face.

"Lily," Jane said soothingly, watching her daughters face in the reflection. Hestia was still working on Lily's face, and obviously knew what was going on.

"She…she…mummy she didn't come," Lily said, her voice shaking slightly, "It's my _wedding_ and she doesn't want to be here for me, I was there for _her _wedding to Vermin of all people, and she cant come to mine? She's my sister! She's supposed to be here!"

"I know sweetheart," Jane said sadly, hugging her daughter from behind. Andrew rubbed soothing circles on Lily's knee

"Lils," Hestia said, straightening up, allowing Lily's eyes to open, "I know it's upsetting that she's not here, but the rest of us are, and we love you so much it should make up for that," she smiled, and Lily chuckled, "Anyway, all I have to do is put some blush on and do your eyes and then we can go, so do _not _cry because then I have to start over and we'll be late for your wedding," Hestia concluded.

"I wonder what James is doing," Lily mused, her eyes closed as Hestia moved a large fluffy blush along her cheeks.

"He's probably at the church already," Hestia said, and Lily frowned

"Why so early?"

"It's not that early Lily, the wedding is in 3 hours," Jane said, and Lily's stomach flipped violently

"Three hours?"

* * *

"I love it here," Emily sighed dreamily, looking up at the ceiling of the church

"It's really nice," Daniel agreed, "Oh my Merlin," he muttered, as Sirius proposed to James at the altar. James grasped his chest dramatically and nodded, and Sirius jumped up happily. Remus clapped in the front row and Peter pretended to cry.

"Boys," Emily muttered under her breath, "I'll be in Lily's dressing room"

"She's here?" James asked, turning quickly to his mother, who smiled and shook her head

"I'm going to wait there," she said, and James sighed, "I'll tell you when she gets here"

"Doesn't mean you can see her mate," Sirius said, clapping James on the back, and James rolled his eyes

"Not the point mate," James said

"Do you understand him?" Sirius asked, turning to Remus, who chuckled

"You know, I really don't."

There was a loud honk outside and Emily squealed, "Lily's here!" she said happily.

* * *

The ride in the car had been weird. Lily had been in front with her father, and Jane was in the backseat with Hestia, sobbing. Andrew had been talking about ground rules he was going to give James, Lily was going over her vows in her head, and Hestia was holding the garment bag containing the wedding dress so carefully that Lily was sure she would take a bullet for it.

"Are we there yet?" Lily asked nervously, and Andrew's face relaxed into an easy grin

"Almost there Lils"

"What time is it?"

"We have to be there in 20 minutes, the ceremony doesn't start for 2 hours," he said, and Lily nodded

"2 hours?"

"Yes flower"

"How much longer?"

"About 2 minutes," Andrew said, looking at his surroundings.

"How much longer now?" Lily asked, playing with the hem of her shirt.

"About 1 minute 57 seconds. Calm down," Andrew laughed. Lily grinned and Jane gave a watery chuckled from behind them. Hestia was too busy staring at the dress so intensely that it might have pierced a hole through it.

"Now?"

"We're here," Andrew said, pulling in. Jane squealed loudly and even Andrew's face lit up, "James is already here." Andrew honked the horn to alert them that they had reached, before parking the car. As soon as he'd unlocked the doors, a bullet came shooting out of the church and Emily Potter opened Lily's door with such ferocity that Andrew flinched, not wanting his car to fall apart.

"You're here!" Emily squealed happily, pulling Lily into a hug as she got out of the car, "Oh Merlin you look gorgeous, well done Hestia, come _on _I'm so bored!" she squealed, taking Lily's hand and pulling her into the church, "You know where the dressing room is!" she called over her shoulder to Hestia, Jane and Andrew, who laughed, "Oh Merlin Lily I cant believe the two of you are _actually _getting married," she said happily as they reached they entered. Emily swerved them left, away from the aisle, and to a room on the side. She pushed the door open and herded Lily inside, seating her down on a stool in front of a large mirror, just as Hestia burst through.

"What did you do with my parents?" Lily asked, as nobody entered behind Hestia

"They went to say hi to James and stuff," she said, waving her hand, and not noticing the look of extreme jealously that came across Lily's face. She wanted to see James! Where was the justice in that?

"Hello!" Daniel said happily, clapping Andrew on the back as he walked in. Jane shot across to James and threw her arms around him, and James hugged her back, for once, just as enthusiastically, "He's really excited," Daniel chuckled, and Andrew grinned

"You should see Lils, she asked me what the time was every three seconds," Andrew laughed, and Daniel chuckled. James looked over at Andrew and walked over quickly, shaking hands with him.

"Hey there Mr. Evans," he said happily, "How's Lily?"

"Haven't you already asked that twenty times?" Sirius said, walking over to them cheekily, "Hey there Papa E"

"Hey there Sirius," Andrew smiled.

"I'm going to go now," Jane said, walking towards the end of the aisle, "I have to help Hestia"

"She's got Emily, is that not enough?" Daniel asked, amused

"That's fine, but you have to get this lot ready," she said, indicating to the four Marauders, who were all still wearing their street clothes.

"Right, I'm going to go check on my daughter," Andrew said, and began to turn around, but Daniel grabbed his arm.

"You are not leaving me with them," Daniel said sternly, and Andrew laughed.

* * *

"Your father is being held hostage," Jane said upon entering the dressing room. Lily and Hestia laughed and Emily rolled her eyes.

"Daniel doesn't want to be alone?"

"Maybe," Jane laughed, and walked over to help Hestia with the garment bag, "Oh Lily, I love this dress," Jane sighed, as she pulled the dress out of the bag and walked over to her daughter. Lily stood up quickly, grinning at the white dress.

"Hold on, let's make life easier," Emily said, whipping her wand out and pointing it at Lily's face and hair, "Now it will never move or change until she takes a shower," Emily said, satisfied. Jane smiled and thanked Emily.

"Clothes off," Hestia said to Lily, who flushed, "No you cannot go to the batroom, we are all females and you're going to be wearing your undergarments so just take your clothes _off!_" Lily rolled her eyes at her friends outburst while the mums laughed and took her clothes off, "See that wans tso hard was it?"

"Okay Lily, hands up," Emily said, and Lily put her hands up. The two mothers and Hestia carefully maneuvered the dress so that it would fall nicely onto her body. Once it was on Lily, they all stepped back and grinned.

"Lily that looks beautiful," Jane said tearfully, and Lily grinned.

"It really does," they turned around quickly to see Sirius, Remus and Peter walk into the dressing room.

"You should be glad they walked in now and not two minutes ago," Hestia laughed, and Lily blushed deep maroon.

"What? We missed it? Bloody hell," Sirius said jokingly, hugging Lily, before turning to Hestia, "And don't you look simply gorgeous?" he said, causing Hestia to flush and giggle. She was wearing her maid of honour dress, which was pale orange, and simple, and had her hair up in an elegant bun.

"Well you look dashing as well," Emily said, eying the three boys in their dress robes in what could only be surprise.

"Why _thank _you," Sirius said, taking a deep bow. Remus rolled his eyes and turned to Peter, who was busy fiddling with a string on his dress robes.

"Oh let me," Jane said in a motherly voice, walking over and quickly ripping the string out of his sleeve.

"Oh, beastly," Sirius said, and they all burst out laughing.

"Since you boys are here, I'll go visit James," Hestia said.

"I'll come with you!" Sirius said happily, and Hestia rolled her eyes

"He's like a lost puppy, following her around," Alice grinned, walking in with Frank.

"Alice!" Lily squealed, and hugged her bridesmaid.

"Hey there!" Frank chuckled, as Lily hugged him as well, "You look great Lily"

"Thanks," she flushed, and Hestia punched the air

"Do not let her blush fade," Hestia said, "I'm going to go visit Lily's future husband, you lot stay here, except for you," she said, pointing at Sirius, who grinned happily.

"Future husband, wow I'm not going to get used to that," Remus said, sitting down on one of the comfy chairs on the other side of the room as the other two exited

"So how was your day?" Sirius asked, taking Hestia's hand in his. Hestia grinned up at him and began swinging their arms.

"Pretty good. I love dressing people up," she laughed

"I am aware," Sirius chuckled, kissing the top of her head,

"How's James?"

"Nervous, and excited," he said grinning, "You'll see," he added as he pushed the door to James's dressing room open to reveal to fathers and a very fidgety James.

"Hest!" he yelled, knocking over his chair as he stood up. Hestia laughed and hugged the nervous boy, "Where and how is Lily?" he stammered

"She's fine, and she's in her dressing room fully ready surrounded by people so just _calm down_," Hestia said, and James grinned sheepishly.

"You look great," James said, and Hestia smiled

"Thanks," she laughed, before turning to Andrew, "You're walking her down the aisle in precisely 12 minutes," she said, causing everyone's eyes to widen, "You," she said, turning back to James, "Should get to the altar"

"Rightio!" he said, grabbing Sirius's elbow, "Come on!" he squeaked. Sirius laughed and allowed James to drag him out of the room towards the aisle.

"But Prongs! I don't want to marry you!" they heard a snort and all laughed; Hestia, Andrew and Daniel being the only ones left in the room.

"I can't believe this," Andrew muttered, looking at the floor worriedly.

"Cant believe what?" Daniel asked. Hestia stood there, slightly awkwardly, watching the two fathers.

"She's getting married," said Andrew, his voice shaking slightly and his eyes tearing up, "My baby is getting married." Hestia watched in amazement as her godfather burst into tears, pulling a handkerchief out. Daniel put his arm around Andrew and rubbed his shoulder soothingly.

"Go," Daniel said to Hestia, who more than happily obliged. She walked out of the room and walked briskly to Lily's dressing room. She walked in to see Lily sitting on the stool by herself with her mother and Emily right next to her. Lily was bright red and as soon as Hestia jumped in, she almost jumped on her.

"I am _so _glad you're here," she squeaked, and Hestia raised her brows.

"Not now," Emily said, clearing her throat awkwardly, "It's time anyway," she said happily, girnning at Lily, "Have fun!" she squealed, hugging the redhead and kissing her cheek. She then turned to Jane, "I'll see you in a minute?" she said, and Jane nodded. Emily smiled at Hestia before walking out of the dressing room.

"Well," Jane said, a lump in her throat, clapping her hands, "Let's get this show on the road," she said in an unnaturally high voice, "You're going to go get married, and I'll see you after the ceremony," she grinned, and kissed Lily's forehead. Lily threw her arms around her mother's torso and Jane smiled, hugging her baby girl to her

"I love you mum," Lily choked out, and Jane kissed her daughter on top of her head

"Always sweetheart," Jane smiled. She pulled away from Lily and after tapping her nose, causing Lily to laugh; she walked out of the room. As she opened the door, she walked right into Andrew. Andrew kissed his wife quickly before shutting the door behind him. They could hear Jane's laughter in the hallway, and Lily grinned. She hoped that she and James would end up like her parents, or his parents, after all those years of marriage.

"SHOWTIME!" Andrew announced happily, and Hestia raised her eyebrows. Andrew shrugged before turning to Lily, who was grinning at him, "Ready Lilykins?" he asked. Lily paled slightly but nodded, allowing Andrew to take her arm.

"I'll go to the aisle then," Hestia grinned, "Congratulations!" Hestia squealed, hugging Lily, before dancing out of the room to find Remus, with whom she was going to walk down the aisle. Alice was to be walking with Peter and Sirius was going to be standing next to James the entire time.

"So how are you feeling?" Andrew asked, as he helped his daughter place the veil on her head. The thin net like material hovered in front of her face, ending at the tip of her nose. She looked at her father and sighed

"I'm really nervous," she admitted, as Andrew handed her the bouquet of orchids.

"Why?" Andrew asked curiously, holding the door open for her as they walked out of the dressing room.

"Because, I'm getting married, it's scary, despite the fact that I'm getting married to James," she said, and Andrew grinned, "what?"

"You always said you wanted to marry me," he chuckled, and Lily laughed

"Well you're taken," she said seriously, and Andrew sighed

"Alas, that is the truth," he said, and Lily giggled, "Don't be nervous squirt, you'll be fine, and as you said, this is James. He'll look after you," Andrew said, choking up slightly, "And he'll be there for you when I cant. You'll be okay baby girl,"

"Dad, I swear, if you cry, I will cry, and then Hestia will murder us all," Lily said, and Andrew shuddered

"Terrible ending to my life," he said solemnly, and Lily giggled. They had reached the lineup, Hestia and Remus standing in front of them. Remus turned and grinned at her.

"How are you?" he asked, and Lily shrugged

"I'm so nervous that I don't really know I'm nervous, you know?" she asked, and Remus looked at Hestia, who laughed.

"No he doesn't," she said, and Lily giggled.

"How many people are here?" Alice hissed, turning around to look at them.

"A lot," Hestia said, "like ¾ the student body of Hogwarts wanted to come for this wedding," she said, grinning cheekily at Lily, who rolled her eyes

"In their defense, nobody ever expected James Potter to get Lily Evans," Remus said matter-of-factly, and Andrew grinned.

"Good girl," he said, and they all laughed. Just then, music started to play, and they all jumped.

"Good luck!" Alice whispered to Lily, before turning around

"And once again, congratulations," Remus smiled, as Alice and Peter walked down the aisle.

"Enough of this emotional stuff, we'll talk after the ceremony," Hestia said. She hugged Lily quickly before taking Remus's forearm and allowing him to turn the corner and lead her down the aisle.

"You ready for this petal?" Andrew asked Lily, his voice shaking. Lily nodded, not trusting her voice, and felt her stomach flip as the music changed.

"I love you daddy," she said, and Andrew chuckled.

"Love you too Lilykins, now let's do this," he said, and turned the corner onto the aisle.

Lily grinned around at the people who were looking at her with awestruck expressions. She could see the Hogwartians, the youngest, in the crowd, and the Order, and her old teachers, and their friends, and James's family, and Nana Evans, and their mothers sitting in the first row. She could see Hestia and Alice standing on the left side of the altar, smiling at her tearfully, and see Peter, Remus and Sirius standing on the right, grinning at her. At last, her eyes found James.

He had the most jubilant smile on his face. He had never seen anyone so beautiful, or a scene so magnificent. He admired the way his fiancée looked in her long, floor length white dress, which had two thick straps over her shoulder and filmy, netty sleeves that clung to her skin, going down to her wrists. She was wearing the locket he had given her in their seventh year, as well as Sirius's ring and his parents bracelet. Her front locks were tied back, and all her hair fell in spectacular ringlets down her back. The veil, a thin net material, covered half of her face, and ran down her hair, reaching the middle of her back. He could see the smile on her face, and the blush in her cheeks, but he could barely see her fantastic green eyes, which he had fallen in love with. His hands were just itching to remove the veil and look her in the eyes. He couldn't believe this was happening. He was actually getting married to the love of his life.

Lily watched his adoring triumphant smile and felt a blush creep up, as a similar smile spread across her face. They reached the altar, finally in her opinion, she had been on the verge of sprinting down it like a marathon runner, and her father kissed her on the cheek, before leading her over to James and delicately placing her hand in his, "Take care of her," he said quietly. James grinned at him and Andrew grinned back, before kissing Lily's temple and walking over to his seat next to Jane, who was next to Emily, who was next to an already sobbing Daniel. Lily handed Hestia her bouquet, receiving a wink, before turning around to face James.

James took her hand gently in hers and smiled down at her, even wider if possible. Lily grinned up into his hazel eyes and felt all her stomach knots and butterflies disintegrate. This was James. And this was her forever. This was where she belonged. She was home.

"Dearly beloved," she turned quickly to see the minister and grinned at the wise wizard standing before her, wearing a spectacular set of maroon dress robes. Albus Dumbledore winked at her before clearing his throat and looking out at the audience, "We are gathered here today for the joining of holy matrimony, of two individuals. James Potter and Lily Evans," he said, gesturing to them respectively.

Sirius wolf whistled and everyone burst out laughing, and Lily looked around James, only to have him wink at her, his eyes slightly shining with tears. Dumbledore waited for the crowd to quiet down, his own chuckles subsiding, before clearing his throat and continuing.

"It is a great day when two people come together in love. Love, the strongest force on earth, that can defeat and solve anything; ranging from lack of food to full fledged war," he said, "Instead of me continuously rambling on about the love these two share, and the power of love, I would like to turn to them to explain," he said, smiling at the two of them, where were still staring at each other.

"I'll go first," James said, and Dumbledore smiled at him. James grinned nervously, and gulped, as he looked around at all the people watching him. Lily gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and he straightened his shoulders, grinning at her, "Lily," he started, his voice caressing the two syllables with so much love that the audience believed they would explode, "Lily Evans, where do I begin?" he chuckled, running his hand through his hair as the audience laughed, all having heard or known the story. Lily heard a hiss and turned to see Emily narrow her eyes at her son as he ran his hand through his hair yet again. James caught his mother's eye and hastily dropped his hand, "Lily I have loved you since I was eleven years old. That's a long time," he said, and Lily grinned, "I've loved you since the moment I first saw you at the station to get on board the train to get to school," he said, "I said I was going to marry you twenty minutes into the two of us being within a metre of each other," he grinned, and Lily smiled at him. There was the sound of a trumpet and Lily looked around to see Hagrid sitting in the back, blowing on a tablecloth sized handkerchief, "I'm a sap when it comes to love, I'll admit," he said, and a murmur of chuckles ran through the crowd, "I always believed that, I'd find a girl, I'd fall in love with her, she'd fall in love with me, and _boom, _we'd live happily ever after, simple, easy," he continued, "And I found you," he said, deadpan, and the whole room burst out laughing, "Now you, Ms. Lily Evans, were not the girl who I could fall in love with and have you fall back in love with me and live happily ever after that simply. No, no, you Ms. Lily Evans, caused me six years of heartache, of constantly asking you out, of constantly wondering _why _you wouldn't go out with me," he teased, watching the faint twinkle in Lily's concealed eyes, as the whole church rung with tearful laughter, "But, me, being a hopeless romantic, I continued to pursue you, and in hindsight, despite all the whining, and crying, and pain, both physical and emotional, including some uncomfortable situations where I had green hair or was swimming in a lake because I'd asked you out," he said, "Despite all that, I would do it all over again," he said defiantly, and Lily's eyes prickled with tears, as Emily and Jane finally succumbed to the tears they had been fighting with all their might, "I would do it all over again, just so I could be with you Lily. You're perfect. And there's nobody else I'd rather spend the rest of forever with," he finished quietly, looking at her intensely.

The church burst into applause and whistles as Lily grinned at James. Sirius, Remus and Peter were clapping and cheering behind James, and James could see Hestia and Alice, with tearstains down their cheeks, clapping for him. Hestia gave him two thumbs up and smiled, and he felt his heart fly at his fiancée's best friends' approval. In the audience, Andrew was clapping for James, and when their eyes met, Andrew nodded at him. If his heart had been flying at Hestia's approval, it was nothing to what it was doing now.

When the crowd hushed, Dumbledore, who had subtly wiped his tears away, smiled at Lily, "I believe it's your turn Lily,"

Lily smiled at him and then glanced around the hall nervously, before clearing her throat and looking up into James's slightly smug face, smug at watching her nerves, which played easily across her face, "James Potter," she started, and a few people laughed in anticipation, "I've probably told you this thousands of times, but, I hate you," she said bluntly, and James's eyes widened, amused, "You see, I had always dreamed of finding the perfect boy, the perfect person who would help me and make me feel good about myself for the rest of my life, the person who would _never _tease me and _never _pester me," she continued, and James's eyes twinkled mischievously as the hall chuckled, "You, James Potter, teased me, and pestered me to go out with you for six years of my life, every single day, without fail," she grinned, "I hated you James, I used to call you 'Potter' because I didn't like you enough to call you your first name," she said, and the hall laughed, "But what I realized after a few years," she continued, James instantly perking up, "I realized that I needed you. I'm the Evans to your Potter, there was no me, without you, my days were never complete without the constant 'go out with me Evans' or 'I love you Evans'," she said, and James grinned, "And that's when I started to hate how you got to me. How you had so much control over me; I hated it. Then came our seventh year at school, and I started to hate you once again. You were annoying, and ridiculous, but," she said, and the whole room went silent, "You were also adorable, funny, nice, sweet, caring, concerned, and every other positive thing out there," she said, grinning up at him, "and I realized something very important that year. I realized the reason why I hated you. I hated you, James Potter, because I fell in love with you," she said, the audience grinning and blowing their noses, "James I'm so happy that you didn't give up on me, because I cannot imagine my life without you," she smiled, "So I finally did find my perfect guy, and I cannot be any more thankful that he is you," she finished. The hall, once again, burst into applause. Lily laughed and looked around at the whistling audience, and froze, noticing a person who she had not expected to see there.

"I invited her personally," whispered James, as Lily continued to stare at Petunia, who was smiling, and crying, "I figured you'd want her here, but she has to leave right after the ceremony," he said. Lily looked at him incredulously and squeezed his hand.

"Thank you," she whispered, and he shrugged, "I love you"

"I know," he chuckled, and Lily rolled her eyes. Dumbledore cleared his throat once more and the hall turned to him in rapt attention.

"As I said, there is no way I could have explained the love the two share," he said, smiling at Lily and James, who were still looking at each other, "I believe it's time to proceed, rings?" he said, looking at Sirius and Hestia, who nodded, pulling out little boxes. Lily turned around and grabbed her ring from Hestia, grinning at her best friend. James grinned at Sirius, who winked at him, before he turned back to Lily, "James, place this ring on Lily's finger as a symbol of your faithfulness to her, and the love that you feel for her, and her alone."

James confidently reached forward, delicately holding her left hand, and slipping the ring easily onto it. Lily looked down at the gorgeous ring and found herself entranced.

"Lily," Dumbledore said, and she looked up quickly, "Place this on James's finger as a symbol of the bond that you two share, and the love that holds you together."

Lily, with slightly shaking fingers, pushed the ring onto James's left ring finger and looked up into his face, and grinned at the pure joy expressed on his features. Honestly, James's happiness was contagious.

"Do you, James Potter, take Lily Evans, as your lawfully wedded life in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?" Dumbledore said

"I do," said James triumphantly, his shoulders back, and his voice resounding all over the magnificent church, seeming to bounce off the walls. Lily grinned at James, who was looking down at her with burning eyes. Several noses were blown and Lily chuckled as she could hear Daniels distinct sobs, standing out from the crowd.

"Do you, Lily Evans, take James Potter, as your lawfully wedded husband in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," she smiled, and their spectators screamed in happiness. James's grin was so wide Lily was afraid his face was going to rip from too much stretching of his skin.

"I now, by the power vested in me, pronounce you husband, and wife," Dumbledore said, and the sound of cheers, whistles and screaming filled the church, "You may kiss the bride," he said, smiling at James. James carefully lifted Lily's veil and felt his insides melt as he found the green eyes.

He leaned forwards and captured her lips with his, holding her in place with the hand he had placed at the back of her neck. Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. When they broke apart from their short but passionate kiss, they were crushed by the bodies of Hestia and Sirius, then Remus, Peter, and Alice. Their friends let go of them, and, holding onto each other, they walked down the aisle, followed by clapping and cheering, hugged by their parents. James high-fived one of his ex-beaters from the Gryffindor Quidditch team, before they made it off the aisle, and turned.

James led her quickly to the room where they were to be taking their pictures and shut the door behind him, looking down at her with a large grin on his face. Lily grinned at him and squealed loudly, throwing her arms around his neck, James wrapping his arms around her waist and swinging her around in a circle, her legs flying off the ground. He placed her down gently and rest his hands one either side of her face, smiling at her

"I missed you like crazy," he said, and Lily laughed

"I missed you too"

"Twenty-four hours really is too long," he sighed, resting his forehead on hers, "Well, we'll never have to be apart for so long ever again," he said happily, and Lily grinned at him.

"Never," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. Just then, the doors burst open and Petunia of all people ran in, pulling her sister into a bear hug.

"Congratulations!" she said happily, pulling back and grinning at her bewildered sister, "I can't believe you're married!" she said happily, hugging James. There was a ringing sound and Petunia huffed, pulling her phone out of her pocket, "I have to go, this is Vernon, he doesn't know where I am," she said, winking at Lily, who grinned at her older sister, "I have to go, congratulations!" she repeated, before running out of the room. There was a commotion outside the doors and Lily sighed

"Looks like we're not going to be alone for a while"

"Hey, we're married now," James grinned, "and Potter's always attend to those who want to see them," he said, and Lily laughed as the doors flew open, revealing the excited faces of their parents and their closest friends.

* * *

"I would like to introduce, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. James Potter!" Sirius announced happily, as James and Lily walked into their reception, greeted by cheers and whistles, "I believe they have a first dance to get to," he said, waving his wand behind his back and causing music to play.

James twirled Lily into his chest and took her left hand in his, placing her right hand on his shoulder and his right hand firmly around her waist. The two twirled and grinned throughout their song, and once the song was over, they were both stolen away by Daniel and Jane respectively.

After Lily had danced with Daniel, Remus, Peter, Frank, and multiple others, she finally found herself back in her husbands' arms, and grinned up at him.

"Enjoying yourself Mrs. Potter?" he whispered into her ear teasingly, and Lily felt her spine tingle

"That's going to take some getting used to," she giggled, hugging herself to him, and James laughed

"We have time," he grinned, kissing her softly. There were flashes all around them as the muggles and the magic took pictures of them but they ignored it. Someone cleared their throat and they broke apart to see Sirius standing there, smirking.

"I believe I haven't had a dance with the beautiful Mrs. Prongs yet," he said, and Lily grinned.

"Later?" James asked, slightly irritable, and Sirius barked out a laugh.

"Come on Lily-flower," he said, taking her hand and pulling her away from James, smoothly spinning her into a waltz. Lily laughed and allowed Sirius to twirl her around the dance floor, everyone's amused eyes on the two of them, "So Prongsette," Sirius said, grinning at her, "How does it feel to be married?"

"I don't feel any different," she laughed as Sirius twirled her around once more

"That's a right shame," he sighed, "I thought you'd suddenly become extremely carefree and dirty, ah well," he said dramatically, as Lily laughed.

"I'll try," she assured him jokingly, and he grinned. He spun her around once more when the music stopped. Sirius grinned and dropped her hand, before running up onto the little stage they had, suddenly holding a wine glass. James came up to her and put his arm around her waist, and Lily grinned up at him.

"Hello everybody," Sirius said, "I'm Sirius Black, the best man," he added, looking around defiantly, causing Lily to giggle, "And I have a few words to say. Mr. James Potter has been my best mate since we were eleven years old," he said, grinning at James, "And he's been the best mate imaginable, better than a brother actually. He's always had one problem though," he added, "he was completely obsessed with this red headed girl, Lily Evans," he grinned, gesturing to Lily, who flushed as someone whistled, "I remember the first time he asked her out, and she turned him down, how incredibly depressed he was. I also remember the last time he asked her out, when she _finally _said yes, after six consecutive years of 'What part of _no _do you not understand Potter?'" Sirius said, mimicking Lily's irritated tone, causing all their guests to laugh, "And I remember how happy he was. I've known James Potter for a _long _time ladies and gentlemen, and all that time, he has been in love with one person, Ms. Lily Evans. So today, on his wedding day, I cannot be happier that he has finally managed to reel in and turn Ms. Lily Evans into Mrs. Lily Potter," he finished. The people burst into applause and Lily wiped a tear from her eye. She was extremely emotional okay?

Sirius sauntered off the stage and walked up to them. James let go of Lily and pulled Sirius into a bear hug, as camera flashes went off in all directions. Lily grinned at Sirius, who laughed happily and pulled her into a large hug, "Despite what I thought at Hogwarts, I can't be happier that it's you Lils," he said quietly, and Lily grinned at him.

* * *

"James!" Lily whined, a blindfold over her face, "Where are we?"

"Our new home, Mrs. Potter," he replied happily, holding her hand in his. He had finished all his sentences with Mrs. Potter, unable to contain his joy.

"Why can't I see?"

"Because there's a blindfold over your eyes Mrs. Potter," he said cheekily, and Lily laughed.

"Witty," she commented, "seriously thought James! Where are we?"

"Oh you're so impatient," he sighed, as he stopped her

"Potter!" she hissed

"Yes, Potter," he replied, his eyes glinting, and Lily giggled, "I'm going to open your eyes now," he said quietly, and quickly removed the blindfold. Lily gasped, looking up into the house in front of her, that looked like an overgrown cottage. She looked around the streets and grinned at James, "Welcome home," he smiled, kissing her on top of her head, "This, my beautiful wife, is our house, in Godric's Hollow, where we are going to live, forever," he smiled.

Lily made to step forward but screamed as she was suddenly hoisted into the air by James, carrying her, believe it or not, bridal style down the pathway, "James you only have to carry me through the threshold," she laughed, as he closed the gate behind him with his foot.

"Oh be quiet Potter," he said, mimicking her best sneering voice, reaching the steps leading up to the door, "Are you ready for this?" he asked, smiling at her, and Lily grinned at him. she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned down, planting a kiss on his lips, to which he responded to as best as he could, given that he was still carrying her.

"Let's go live our lives James,"

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Hey! So it's not done, but I wanted to end this here. I don't think there will be many more chapters to be honest, because I'm really keen on starting my NEXT story, and I honestly cannot for the life of me write more than one story at a time. Plus, it's close to the time to wrap this one up. **

**Hope you like the chapter, stay tuned!**

**Happy Fanficcing! REVIEW. **


	18. Their Forever

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for all the reviews. Totally made my day. The wedding was SO much fun to write. This chapter was too. This is the last chapter of this story. I hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to check again, because I'm going to post an Authors Note (that will be my oh so creative title to that chapter) and I'll tell you the name of the trequel, which will be a few chapters long on the baby process. Enjoy! And thank you so much for reading. **

**For those of you who asked; my next story. I was thinking of doing one of Harry's life after the war or one about Fred. I don't want to give away the details because, well, it's MY story :D haha. You'll find out soon enough.**

**This would be AFTER the trequel, just by the way. Thank you so much for reading. You've all been amazing. Lots of love, Niharika. **

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot**

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* * *

Previously:**_

_The Golden Couple got married._

* * *

Lily woke up the next morning to the noise of an alarm clock. She reached out to slam her alarm clock shut.

"BLOODY OW!"

She sat up quickly to see James in bed next to her, gripping his nose, "Merlin Lily you didn't have to _abuse _me!"

"I'm so sorry! I forgot!"

"You forgot that we're married?" he asked incredulously, a smile playing across his face at those words, looking at Lily, who grinned

"No! I forgot I wasn't alone in bed, you're where my alarm clock should be," she laughed, and James rolled his eyes, still sporting a goofy smile.

"That _hurt_. Your poor alarm clock," James whined, lying down on his back, the blanket falling down to reveal his bare chest, holding his nose.

"Naw, I'm sorry," she said teasingly, grinning at him as she rested her chin on his shoulder, "Did little Jamie get hurt?"

"Shut it Potter," he muttered, and Lily laughed, as James's mouth twitched slightly.

"So, husband dearest, what are we doing today?" she asked, rolling away from James and sitting up on the edge of their massive bed. James had already decorated the house, knowing Lily's as well as his own taste in décor.

"Well my little wife, we have to visit the parents," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"What if I don't want to? Can I just sleep? You can to visit the parents," she smiled sweetly, and James rolled his eyes.

"Lils,"

"I was kidding," she laughed, getting off the bed, aware of James's eyes following her, "What?" she asked, as his gaze finally got to her. James grinned and got out of bed, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his forehead against hers.

"I'm just in shock, that's all," he chuckled, and Lily frowned

"What?"

"I cant believe you married me," he grinned, and Lily laughed.

"Me neither."

"We should invest in a time turner, and go back in time and tell your past self that we got married," he said seriously, and Lily grinned

"That would be fun," she said, her eyes twinkling, "Maybe tomorrow though, if we don't see the parents we're doomed," she said matter-of-factly, "And I'd rather like to be married to you for a while longer."

"Before we do that though," he said, trying not to show the effect her words had had on him, "I want you to meet somebody," he said, and Lily frowned

"Who?"

"You'll see, now go get ready," he said, pushing her towards their bathroom. Lily stuck her tongue out at him before shutting the door behind her. James chuckled and fell backwards onto the bed, smiling at the tapestry above him. he had been married to Lily for a little more than twelve hours, and the post wedding high wasn't even close to wearing off. He doubted it would for years. He ran his hands through his hair and sat up. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a cotton t-shirt as he heard the shower turn on.

The house they were staying in was exactly as he'd imagined his house to be when he was young. The walls were a pleasant peach colour and the house seemed to have a Gryffindor theme to it. There were three rooms on the second floor, one of them being the master bedroom, and two extra rooms, all with connecting bathrooms.

"I'll meet you downstairs!" he called through the bathroom door. He heard Lily call back and grinned as he went down the stairs, skipping a few. The downstairs was very welcoming and cozy. There was a kitchen heading off towards the back, right behind their dining table, which seated six, and there were a few couches in their living room next to a fireplace, and there was a window through which the whole street could be seen. The front door was to the left, and was not completely visible from the inside of the house, one had to walk around a wall to see it.

There was a secret room which nobody but James and Lily knew about, where they had stored all their items of value; their photo albums, letters, presents. James turned around as he heard the patter of Lily's feet as she came down the stairs and soon enough, she was in front of him, dressed in a nice, pale blue, sleeveless, knee length dress.

"Hello," she sung, smiling at him, and he grinned back at her

"Lily are you wearing a dress?" he teased, and Lily flushed

"Shut up," she said simply, and walked past him into the kitchen, James following her like a lost puppy.

"Where are you going? What are you doing?" he asked, as he rounded the door to the kitchen to see his wife pulling open the door to the fridge

"I'm getting breakfast," she said simply, and James snorted

"We have a breakfast date at your parents house," he said, and Lily sighed

"Do we have to?" she whined, and James laughed. He put his arms around her and kissed her softly

"Morning," he said quietly, and Lily grinned up at him

"Why the sudden rush of affection Mr. Potter?" she asked, and James's eyes twinkled

"Just admiring the beautiful Mrs. Potter," he grinned, and Lily laughed, "Plus I have to introduce you to somebody before we got meet your parents," he said, and Lily frowned

"Who?"

"Come on," he grinned, taking her hand and leading her through their cozy house to the front door. Lily quickly slipped on a pair of ballet flats and allowed her fully dressed husband to lead her out of their house.

"Shouldn't we lock up?" she asked worriedly, as he led her down the path to the fence.

"Lily you think our house is going to be robbed?" he asked incredulously, and Lily bit her lip, "Don't worry Lils it'll be fine!"

"Don't worry? That's my _house _James," she said irritably, looking back at the house as he closed the gate firmly behind them.

"Honestly Lily, it's like you're not interested in where we're going," he said, smirking as Lily responded just as he had expected; she turned quickly to look at him and her eyes widened.

"Where _are _we going James?"

"You'll see," he grinned, in a very annoying manner in her opinion. He led her down the street and Lily grinned, "What?" he asked, smiling slightly at the happiness on her face.

"We're going to grow old here aren't we?" she said excitedly, hugging herself to James, who grinned

"I suppose," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"And we're going to have a family," she said, a warm feeling spreading inside her as the thought crossed her mind.

She could see in her mind the image of two little James's running around on the street, and her walking out of her house, leaning over their gate and calling them all in for dinner. They would grin at her mischievously, and race each other into the house, followed, of course, by their stupid father, who would ruffle his hair and give her his signature lopsided grin, before heading inside, his arm around her, and picking up their baby girl from where the two James's would be dancing around her, their children's laughter filling the whole house.

"Yes, we are," said James gently, a distant look in his eyes, and Lily snapped out of her revere, and grinned up at him. She opened her mouth to say something more but was cut off, "We're here!" he said happily, pushing open the gate to one of the other cottage homes.

"James don't tell me you bought _another_ house," she said apprehensively, looking at the building, nad James laughed

"No Lily, I did not buy us another house,"

"Okay good," she said, relaxing marginally, "Then what are we doing here? James are you breaking and entering? Do you know these people?" she asked, her voice rising in pitch as they continued walking down the path to the front door.

"Oh hush," he chuckled, rapping on the door with his knuckles.

"At least you knocked," she muttered, and James grinned. Footsteps sounded and the door in front of them opened to reveal a very old, small, withered looking woman, with kind eyes. The woman looked at Lily, a small frown in between her brows, and then to James. Once she saw the boy, her whole face lit up.

"Little Potter!" she said happily, in a papery old voice, that was still full of life and energy despite it's raspiness. James grinned as he noticed Lily's dumbstruck expression and let the old woman pull him into a familiar embrace. Lily was still staring at the woman with wide eyes, "Oh it really has been too long," she said, smiling up at him with wise eyes, "And who is this?" she asked, turning to look at Lily, who was still staring at her in shock.

"This is my wife," James said, grinning as he addressed her so, "Lily," he said, and the old woman smiled sweetly at her.

"Hello dear," she said and then turned back to James, "I wasn't aware you had gotten married,"

"You were busy!" he said defiantly, "yesterday!"

"Alas, I was busy," she sighed, and then turned back to Lily, "Nice to meet you Lily dear, congratulations, we've never met, I'm-"

"Bathilda Bagshot," Lily stammered. Bathilda smiled and nodded and Lily looked at James, who was trying his best not to laugh. She turned back to Bathilda and shook hands with the old witch, "It's such a pleasure to meet you," Lily said, eyes wide. She looked like a little girl meeting Santa Claus.

"Lily was the Gryffindor bookworm," James told Bathilda, as if that explained his wife's excitement to meet the old historian, and Lily smacked him in the arm.

"James," she hissed and he grinned.

"Leave her alone," Bathilda chastised James, before turning back and smiling sweetly at Lily, "Why don't you come on in?" she suggested, gesturing them inside.

"Sorry, we have a breakfast appointment," James said, contradicting Lily, who had internally died at the prospect of being invited by Bathilda into her house. Lily sighed and Bathilda laughed.

"Some other time then," she said.

"Definitely, we live right over there," Lily said excitedly, pointing to their house, and Bathilda smiled.

"Excellent, we will be seeing a lot of each other," she said.

"Bye," James smiled, dragging Lily away from Bathilda Bagshot's house.

"See you! Bye!" Lily yelled happily, even after Bathilda had closed the door to her house, "Merlin James! I just met Bathilda Bagshot! _The _Bathilda Bagshot!" she said excitedly, holding onto his arm and jumping up and down.

"You'll always be a bit of a nerd wont you?" he teased, and Lily scoffed.

"I'm not a nerd Potter," she said, crossing her arms and taking a step away from him.

"I believe you are Evans," he said, and then shook his head, "Er, Potter. You're right that will take some getting used to," he chuckled, putting his arm around her and kissing her temple.

"Oh get off me Potter," she said, flushing happily. James laughed and accidentally bumped into a little child walking down the street.

"Oh sorry," he said anxiously, getting down on his haunches in front of the little child, "Are you okay?" the child nodded and then, sticking his hand out in front of him, zoomed away, making whooshing noises, the red cloth tied around his neck billowing around him, "What in the name of Merlin is he doing?" James asked, standing up next to Lily, who grinned after the child

"He's being superman," she smiled, "I used to do that all the time," she said, forgetting her supposed anger at her husband and taking his hand

"You did?" he asked, eyebrows raised, grinning down at her.

"Of course, all kids did. Well, actually, no. All the boys did," she said, and James grinned

"What did the girls do?" he asked, and Lily scrunched her nose

"They stayed indoors planning their weddings and playing with dolls," she said in a disgusted tone, "So boring." James burst out laughing and turned so he was standing in front of Lily, smiling at her.

"You were always different," he chuckled, and Lily smiled up at him, "Now, to breakfast!" he said, taking her hand and turning on the spot. Lily opened her eyes to see herself in her parents living room, her parents voices coming from the kitchen

"Are you sure they're coming?" Lily's fathers voice asked, and Lily grinned at James

"James said they were"

"Oh of course, if James said they were," they heard Andrew mutter, and Lily burst out laughing, "Lily?" Andrew said, running around the corner to see his daughter and her, er, husband, standing there, laughing, "Lily!" he said happily, running over to her and swinging her around.

"Well if it isn't the Potters," said a familiar voice. Lily turned to see Emily standing there, smiling at them.

"Mum?" James asked incredulously, pulling his mother into a hug.

"You didn't think that you'd only be having breakfast with _one _set of parents?" Daniel chuckled, coming around the corner with Jane.

"Mum!" Lily said happily, hugging her mother. Jane's eyes were full of tears as she hugged her daughter tightly.

"Lily are you in a dress?" Daniel asked, bewildered.

"She has to be, it's an Evans tradition," Andrew chuckled, as he shook hands with James.

"Pardon?" Emily asked, wrapping her arms around James's torso and hugging him.

"Well, the first day after marriage, Evans women have always worn dresses," Andrew shrugged, "We don't know why, but it would be pretty obscure to change that _now_," he said, and Lily grinned

"I'm wearing the dress, aren't I?" she said, and Andrew chuckled

"Never thought I'd see the day _you_ would wear a dress," he said, and Lily stuck her tongue out at her father. Daniel grinned and raised his eyebrows at Andrew.

"Lily was never the girly one," he said, grinning at Lily, who shrugged.

"Dresses are so-"

"Girly?" James suggested, smirking. Lily turned her head to glare at James playfully, before allowing her mother to drag her away from the men.

"So when can we see the house?" Jane asked excitedly, and Lily looked at James, who shrugged

"Anytime really," he said, and Emily grinned.

"I bet we'll pop in soon," Daniel chuckled, noticing the obvious gleam in his wife's eyes.

* * *

When they got back to their house, it was late evening. Lily and James had decided to visit Hestia so had proceeded to dump their wedding presents, which had been at Lily's parents house, and disapparate without opening them.

"Hello!" Lily turned quickly to see Sirius run at her, pulling her into a hug.

"Sirius?" she said uncertainly, looking around. Yes, they were in her old flat. Weird.

"Yes, 'tis me," he said, winking at her, before turning with a yell to James. Lily decided to leave the brothers alone and walked through the flat in search of her best friend. Lily found her best friend sitting on her bed, writing in a large pad of yellow paper, a crease in between her brows.

"Hello there," Lily smiled, leaning in the doorway. Hestia's head snapped up and her face broke into a large grin.

"Lily!" she squealed, running over to her best friend and throwing her arms around her neck, "Oh Merlin I miss you around here!" she laughed, pulling back and holding the married woman at arms length, "Look at you! In a dress already. Maybe I should have had you wed to James years ago, your fashion sense would have improved infinitely," she chuckled. Lily snorted and there was a guffaw behind them.

"Very ladylike Evans," Sirius chuckled, and then his eyes widened, "I cant say that anymore can I? Merlin that's going ot get irritating," he sighed.

"What are you saying?" James asked bluntly, after exchanging confused glances with the two girls, who laughed.

"I cant address her as Evans anymore, as she is now Potter," Sirius said, and James nodded solemnly

"I'll miss that," he said seriously, and Sirius snorted

"_You'll_ miss that? I heard her addressed thus for seven years, it'll be a hard habit to give up," Sirius said, regarding Lily as if she were a piece of art.

"I believe I addressed her as Evans for six years," James pointed out

"Yes but she's married to _you _so it shouldn't be so hard for you to remember to address her as Potter," Sirius exclaimed. He took a deep breath, pretending to calm himself, before grinning, "So you're married,"

"Well we did go to their wedding," Hestia murmured, and Sirius stuck his tongue out at her.

"Oh be quiet Jones," he grinned, and Hestia rolled her eyes, her mouth twitching.

"Come back," she pretended to beg Lily, "I don't like living with a boy!"

"Oh Merlin I forgot he was moving in!" Lily gasped, turning to look at her husbands handsome friend, "Oh no is he living in my room?" she asked worriedly, and Hestia laughed

"He sleeps in my room but, yes, all of his belongings have been dumped in your room," she said, and Lily laughed

"You make him sound like a dog"

"He is a dog," James pointed out, and Lily nodded in acceptance.

"That is true,"

"Maybe he shouldn't sleep indoors"

"I was thinking about that, I was going to get him a rug outside in the living room or something," Hestia said seriously, and the Potters laughed as Sirius snorted loudly.

"Ha bloody ha you lot are so hilarious," he said, sarcasm dripping off his chin. The other three laughed and Sirius shook his head fondly, "Anyway, Prongs is coming with me," he said, throwing his arm around James's shoulders. He turned away before stopping and turning back to Lily, a sly smile on his face, "I'll have him home by eleven," he said, and Lily laughed.

"Eleven?" she said, hands on her hips, "That's past his bed-time," she said sternly, and James rolled his eyes as Sirius and Hestia laughed.

"Ah sorry then, er, what time is suitable?" Sirius asked, grinning. Lily laughed and pushed James towards Sirius.

"Just bring him back by tomorrow," she said. Sirius made a show of saluting to her before rubbing his knuckles in James's hair.

"Hear that mate? You're mine," he said happily, as James shrieked, attempting to throw his best mate's hands out of his hair, "So long," Sirius said, kissing Hestia before letting go of her and turning to swing Lily around, "Farewell," he said, kissing her cheek, before turning to James, "Now Jamsie say bye to your wife," he chastised, and James sighed dramatically

"Goodbye wife," he said, kissing Lily on her cheek and then hugging Hestia quickly before turning to Sirius.

"On we go!" Sirius announced, taking James's arm and turning on the spot.

"So what are we going to do?" Lily asked as soon as they were gone, turning to Hestia, who gave her an apologetic smile.

"Actually Lils I have to go into work, I'm so sorry!"

"That's fine," Lily said, shrugging, "I'll go home," she said, and Hestia nodded.

"Are you sure?"

"I'll be fine," Lily laughed, pushing her friend, "Now go work,"

"Bye," Hestia grinned, hugging her best friend, before heading back into her bedroom to retrieve the things she needed to take with her. Lily turned on the spot and arrived on the beautiful streets of Godric's Hollow. She briefly debated going to visit Bathilda Bagshot but decided against it, and instead decided to walk around the village, wanting to get to know it better. After all, she would be living there for a long time, presumably the rest of her life.

The ring on her finger sparkled in the sunset as she walked around the beautiful village. It was perfect, in her opinion. It looked like a peaceful village in the countryside, but in reality was in the middle of a busy city. She turned a corner and grinned at the restaurant James had taken her on for a date months ago. She wondered if that irritating waitress was still there, what was her name? She remembered it began with a B. Brianna…Bertha…Brenda! That was it, Brenda. Lily grinned at the memories. She walked past the restaurant, deciding to enter later with James, and found herself at a playground on the corner. She grinned at the muggle children running around. A young boy, no older than three, grinned at her, and she waved back, a sweet smile on her face. The boy laughed and slid down the slide, vanishing from her view.

She imagined bringing their children here with James, and laughed, imagining how James would be more fascinated by the activities than her children would be. She felt a sudden chill and was momentarily surprised that it was getting dark out. She turned around and tried to make her way back to her house. It was her first time around the village, she probably should have made sure she knew her way back to the cottage.

About a half hour later, Lily pushed the door to their house open, to see a distraught James sitting on the couch, "Lily!" he exclaimed, relief coating his voice, "Where have you been?" he asked, slightly angrily, looking down at his small wife.

"I was looking around," she said, and James's nostrils flared. _He must have been honestly worried, _she thought, and smiled at him apologetically, "Sorry I worried you," she said quietly, putting her hands on his shoulders. She could see him battling with his emotions and he finally sighed, giving in to her touch. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him, resting his cheek in her hair.

"Don't take so long next time," he said, and Lily grinned into his shoulder.

"Shouldn't you be with Sirius? I didn't expect him to respect your bedtime," she laughed, and James chuckled.

"I came back because we ran into Hestia in Diagon Alley," he said, and Lily frowned

"Strange, she said she was going to work," Lily frowned, but brushed it off. They probably caught her after work, or on her way to buy some materials.

"So where did you go?" he asked, leading her back to the sofa

"I went to explore the village, I found the playground," she grinned, and James's eyes twinkled

"I never got to play on that, I always wanted to," he admitted, and Lily grinned, "I'll wait," he shrugged, and Lily laughed

"James? Patient? There's something I never thought I'd see," she teased, and James rolled his eyes

"Ouch Lily, that really hurts," he said, faux-sincere.

"You'll live," she sneered, and winked before getting up

"Where are you going?" he asked, grabbing her hand

"Dinner?" she suggested, and he sighed

"Can I help?" he asked, and Lily shook her head

"I don't want to blow up the house on our first day," she said, and James pouted

"Can I help tomorrow?"

"Maybe"

"Why maybe?" he whined, following her into the kitchen

"James I rather like this house!"

"You're so mean"

"So are you"

"Thanks"

"Don't mention it"

_

* * *

Months passed, and the couple continued life, happily married, living their perfect lives. _

_Their jobs were going well. As new Aurors, they hadn't been on raids, but filling out paperwork for those Aurors that did go on raids, so neither was especially worried about the other, well, at least at work._

_Their jobs for the Order were getting steadily more dangerous as the war progressed. One of their members had recently been murdered. _

_Their life in Godric's Hollow was flawless. Lily stopped by a few times a week to have a chat with Bathilda Bagshot, who honestly enjoyed the young girls' company. James accompanied Lily sometimes, but usually went to visit Remus, who now lived alone in the Marauder's flat._

_Full moons were no stress either. They were able to meet at their old Bachelor Pad and follow Remus down to the forest to transform, able to run around and enjoy themselves to whatever extent, and ended up crashing in their old rooms, after delivering Remus to St. Mungos hospital, that had a permanently reserved bed for him. _

_Sirius Black and Hestia Jones, their closest friends, had recently had a fight and broken up, but had gotten back together a couple hours later, after thinking it over. They were absolutely fine now, and had even talked about marriage a couple times._

_All in all, nothing could be better; nothing could have improved their lives._

_That's what they thought, until it happened; the thing that changed their lives, it happened._

* * *

"Lily?" James asked, walking through their house after a rough night. He had been working for the Order, and had come home with a few cuts on himself. The sound of banging ensued and a stricken Lily Potter appeared, her hair back in a bun, wearing shorts and a large shirt.

"What do you do for your friend?" she asked, pointing her wand at his chest

"I'm an illegal Animagus for my friend Remus," he said calmly, and Lily lowered her wand, before almost pouncing on him.

"I was so worried!" she whispered, burying her face in his shoulder

"Why?" he asked, bewildered

"You don't know?" she whispered, looking up at him with tear filled eyes.

"Don't know what?" he asked worriedly, running his hand through his hair.

"About the deaths," she said quietly, and James shook his head, his stomach dropping, "We lost two members today," she said, and James groaned, hiding his face in his hands.

"Who did we lose?" he asked, and Lily shook her head, biting her lip.

"Fab and Gid," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. James groaned and pulled his beautiful wife in for a hug, letting his tears stain her scalp, "Fab and Gid, James! I thought they were invincible! And we've b-been friends for s-so long," she sniffed. James took a step back and wiped away her tears, ignoring his own

"How?" he whispered.

"They were cornered during a mission last night," she said, wiping at her face, her voice coming out choked, "They were outnumbered 2 to 1. They managed to take out 5," she smiled

"They were always amazing duelers," James sighed, "I cant believe it"

"Me neither, I cried so much today," she said, having to wipe at her face again, "It made me feel so guilty for being deliriously happy today," she sighed, and James cocked his head to the side.

"Why were you deliriously happy today?" he asked curiously, and Lily bit her lip

"I don't know if this is the time," she said honestly, looking up at him, and James shook his head

"We have to deal with this Lils, especially in these dark times. Plus, I doubt Fab and Gid would have wanted us to mope around like this," he chuckled, and Lily rolled her eyes

"They'd tell us to go party and have a few Firewhisky's for them," she grinned and James laughed.

"Sounds very much like our favorite Prewetts," he said, and Lily giggled, "So what is your news?"

"I don't know how to tell you to be honest," she said, turning maroon, to James's immense surprise.

"Lils! Just tell me!" he said exasperatedly, looking down at her.

"I don't know how you'll react," she said, looking down at the floor, suddenly extremely interested in the weave.

"Is it important?" he asked, and Lily bit her lip

"Er, no," she lied.

"Then tell me later," he shrugged, taking her hand and pulling her towards him. she looked up at him and gasped.

"James what happened to you?" she shrieked, pulling her wand out and quickly getting to work on his various cuts and bruises

"Ran into the Lestranges, tricky buggers," he said, wincing as Lily poked at a cut above his eye.

"Be more careful," she chastised, healing the cut and moving on to one on his shoulder, "Oh this is useless," she huffed, "Take off your shirt," she instructed, and James winked at her, "Mind out of the gutter Potter," she said, her voice strained from holding back a laugh.

"So what did you do today?" he asked, as he pulled his blood stained shirt over his head, "Merlin it's cold in here," he shuddered.

"Wait until it starts snowing," she chuckled, and James pouted.

"I hate Septembers! They're so cold!" he whined, and Lily rolled her eyes

"Grow up James"

"No." he said defiantly, and Lily grinned, but otherwise chose to ignore her five-year-old husband.

"Done," she announced, sealing the final cut and making sure no scarring would remain. James already had a few scars on his torso, each one from the Death Eaters and work of the Order.

"You are a life saver," he sighed, pulling on a new shirt from the laundry basket Lily had left by the stairs.

"Oh thank you for reminding me," Lily said, waving her wand, causing the basket to levitate. James chuckled as Lily ruffled his hair as she walked past him, leading the basket up the stairs. He jogged to the kitchen and leaned against the counter, grabbing a brownie from the large stack of baked goods Lily's parents had sent that morning.

Gideon and Fabian Prewett. Dead. How many more would he have to suffer through watching die? He had already watched Marlene McKinnon, who had been on his Quidditch Team back at school, and her husband pass away. He had also watched Mad-Eye lose a chunk of his nose thanks to Igor Karkaroff, who had been caught a few weeks ago.

He genuinely was going to miss Fabian and Gideon. They had been his closest friends outside the Marauders and Marauderettes. He felt his eyes prickle and wiped them quickly. He did not want to cry. He had to be strong. He had to be there for Lily.

As soon as she crossed his mind, he shoved the brownie in his mouth and ran out of the kitchen, bounding up the stairs two at a time. He walked into their bedroom to see her sitting in the middle of the bed, head buried in her knees, her body shaking with sobs, "Oh Lils," he said, running over and sitting on the bed, pulling her into him. she was shaking with chest heaving sobs, "Lils don't cry," he crooned, brushing her hair with his fingers.

"Well t-then y-y-you stop c-crying," she said, shoving lightly with her elbow. James chuckled and wiped his face, where his tears had escaped her eyes.

"You caught me," he said half-heartedly, and kissed the top of her head, "Lily don't cry, please don't cry,"

"But I was s-so happy before," she sniffed, wiping her eyes on her knees, "And now I've been reduced to a blithering pile of n-nothing," she said, wiping at her face.

"What were you so happy about? I'm curious now," he said, shifting so that he was facing her. Lily smiled slightly and looked down, before shaking her head.

"I don't know how to tell you"

"Open your mouth and words come out," he said, and Lily rolled her eyes

"Actually that's a lie James," she said, and he sighed

"Okay, fine, open your mouth and then close it, forming words that you push out with your voice," he said, and Lily looked up at him, her eyebrows raised, amused, "Don't ask," he said, holding up a hand, and Lily grinned

"I wasn't planning on it," she said, lying down. James was still sitting up next to her, right next to her stomach.

"Lily!"

"What James?" she asked innocently, looking at him with twinkling eyes.

"Tell me!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm your husband an extremely curious," he said, and Lily sat up, running her hand through her thick, auburn hair.

"I'm scared," she said, after what felt like an eternity of her biting her lip and looking at him.

"Why are you scared? I'm not scary," he said, and then shook his head, "Actually I understand, I'm a very scary person, roar," he said, and Lily burst out laughing

"Are you that tired," she smiled, resting her hand on his cheek

"Maybe," he said, yawning, before leaning forwards and kissing her quickly, causing her to chuckle, "What's going on?"

"My mum told me something today when she came to drop the brownies off," she said uncertainly, and James nodded

"What did she tell you?'

"Er, Petunia, she's pregnant," she said, her nose scrunching slightly

"That's disgusting," James shuddered, and Lily giggled, "Petunia is having _Vermin's _baby? That's so wrong on so many levels," he shuddered once more and Lily laughed, "Would it be human? Would it be a whale? Would it have a large mustache and be ridiculously obsessed with drills?" he asked eagerly, and Lily grinned

"I sincerely hope not, for the child's sake," she sighed, brushing her hair away from her face once more, and tossing it over her shoulder

"Disgusting, can you imagine them doing the deed?" he chuckled, and Lily scrunched her nose so much it shrunk a couple inches

"James! That's disgusting!" she laughed, smacking at his arm. James laughed and attempted to shield himself, "That's my sister! How dare you even _mention _that! James!" she shrieked, covering her ears, as James continued to laugh.

"I'm extremely sorry," he said, pretending to be sincere, as he watched her squirm, her eyes closed, "I don't see how this is why you were so happy," he said after frowning for a second, remembering how this conversation, however disturbing and scarring to his soul, had started.

"Oh," Lily said, suddenly flushing extremely darkly, "Well, I, er, have to, erm, tell you something," she said quietly, and he nodded, egging her on. when it became evident that Lily wasn't about to say anything, James sighed

"Lils?"

"Yes?" she said, looking up at him, and James shook his head fondly

"The last time you stalled you flustered me," he smiled, and Lily grinned, remembering that awkward time she had attempted to talk to her boyfriend about sex in their seventh year.

"Well I stall because they're flustering topics!" she said defensively, and James shrugged, as if that wasn't an excuse

"You're stalling," he said bluntly, and Lily huffed, blowing hair out of her eyes, "Get on with it, love, I'm growing old here,"

"I see the grey hair," she said, and James rolled his eyes. He knew he had no grey hair.

"Lily!"

"Well James, I'm just, it's, er, hard, to, um, talk about," she said, and James sighed. Lily looked down at the mattress and James took her face in both of his hands, giving her no choice but to look him in the eyes.

"Lily, you can tell me anything," he said, and Lily nodded, "Now go ahead and tell me before I fall over, I am exhausted," he said, and Lily sighed

"James, remember last week? When we came home late?" she asked, and James's eyes twinkled.

"Yes I do," he winked, and Lily grinned

"Well, now, I'm, well, James,"

"Lily…" he said testily, and Lily sighed. She squeezed her eyes tight and took a deep breath.

"I'mgoingtohaveababy," she said quickly, exhaling as it came out.

"What?" he asked, leaning forwards, "Sorry I didn't catch that," he said apologetically, and Lily sighed, looking at him.

"I said, I'm going ot have a baby," she said slower, measuring his reaction. James froze and looked at her

"You, you mean you're-"

"Yes, I'm pregnant," she said, and James nodded stiffly, looking down at the bed. Lily felt her stomach sink into her bum. She shouldn't have told him. It was a bad idea. He was going to leave her with the baby and go marry someone younger, skinnier, and less pregnant. He was going to explode.

After years it felt like, James looked up at her, and Lily felt her heart expand. He was grinning, "You're pregnant. We're going to have a baby," he breathed, looking into her grinning green eyes, "Are you serious?"

"No I'm Lily," she laughed, and James's eyes widened

"Really? I'm going to be a dad?" he breathed, and Lily nodded, unable to keep the grin off her face. James let out a shocked laugh, and Lily grinned, slumping onto her back, covering her face with her hands. She could barely contain her joy at the fact that she was going to be a mother. And not just any mother, James Potter's wife, and the mother to his children. She grinned, wondering how she would react if she told herself this in her third year. She'd probably try and resist this fate.

She jumped as her stomach was suddenly revealed to cold air, and she felt James's soft lips pressed against her tummy, "Hey baby," he whispered, kissing her again, and Lily bit her lip, grinning, "It's your daddy here," he continued, "You know what?" he continued. Lily looked down and caught his eye, "I love you."

**

* * *

Hi! So that's where I'm ending this fic. I know I'm sorry. But don't worry, I'm writing a trequel. IT wont be so long, probably like, what, 5 chapters, but I don't know, it might be longer on Lily and James and HARRY. **

**Thank you so much for reading. I like reviews, just by the way. Haha.**

**Thank you so much for reading this fic! I'll post a note when I've gotten the next story up!**

**Just incase anybody wants a preview of the next story, in terms of Sirius and Hestia since a lot of you have asked, listen to the song You Do, You Don't by The Friday Night Boys.**

**You guys have been amazing. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to be a writer. And for making me feel amazing.**

**Niharika =)**


	19. Note

**Hey!**

**I just realized, I never posted anything to tell you that the trequel (is that a word?) is up!**

**Its been up for a long while now so I apologize to those who didnt know!**

**Well, if you're interested, its called Red and Raven. It starts late in Lily's pregnancy.**

**Love,**

**Niharika**

**xx**


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